


The Dragon

by 2Dglasses



Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-01-18 14:48:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12390276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2Dglasses/pseuds/2Dglasses
Summary: A city was destroyed by flames years ago. The only survivor was a baby named Choi Seunghyun.One night 26 years later, Seunghyun sees a very interesting looking red haired man and has an instinct to get to know him better.But will he regret it?





	1. The Story

"Once upon a time, long ago, in this very city, there lived dozens of families. Mommies and Daddies and children - just like us. But do you know what else lived next to city?"

 

"What Daddy?"

 

"A big, fearsome, fire-breathing dragon!"

 

Both the young brother and sister gasped in their beds.

 

"This dragon kept watch over the city. It watched for the naughty children who were being bold and misbehaving."

 

The young boy gulped as his sister clutched her teddy.

 

"What happened next Daddy?"

 

"Well, one night, the dragon was so angry with the bold children that it flew down from it's den and blew fire over the whole city."

 

The siblings gripped each other tight and stared in shock at their father.

 

"All of the families and the children were gone and the dragon disappeared."

 

Seeing his children's frightened expressions, the father smiled and put his arms around their shoulders.

 

"Don't worry kids. The dragon never came back. Do you know why?"

 

"Because we are good?"

 

"That's right."

 

The father squeezed their shoulders gently before leaning down and picking up his daughters' fallen teddy. 

 

"Good night kiddo's."

 

He placed the teddy back in his daughters lap and kissed them both on the cheek. 

 

The girl looked to her brother before clutching her teddy tight.

 

Her stuffed dragon.

 

\--

 

"I don't know why you insist on telling that story. It scares the life out of them."

 

The mother placed a cup of tea on the table as the father sat down. 

 

"Ah, stories are just stories, honey. Besides, maybe they'll listen."

 

The mother leaned back against the counter with her own warm cup in both hands.

 

"Are they just stories?"

 

"What? You don't believe it's actually true do you?"

 

The father took a sip from his cup.

 

"Well no, it's just..."

 

She took a seat beside her husband.

 

"They never found out what caused the fire. That's all."

 

"I'm sure it was just some crazy who got a hold of some matches and had a bit too much that night."

 

He held her hand in his.

 

"Still though..."

 

She looked out the window and up to the mountain top in the distant moonlight.

 

"...stories come from somewhere."

 

\---

 

Choi Seunghyun was a loner. He preferred it that way. He didn't trust others - only himself and his best friend. He had the capacity to, but so far in his life nobody had really proven that he could. 

 

He never knew his parents. They were killed in the city fire not long after he was born. The stories he was told about the fire were never concrete. Out of the hundreds of people who had populated the city, baby Choi Seunghyun was the only survivor. 

 

He was found away from the rubble and wreckage -- safe and sound, clean and very much alive. 

 

Nobody ever knew how he managed to survive. It is a mystery that hung over his head since it happened. 

 

That and the reason for the fire.

 

He had taken over his parents company when he was of age. It was a successful company and he had made enough money that he could start up an underground investigatory organization to continue to research the mystery of the fire. He didn't get involved with every fine detail of their findings, but he funded them and was informed of major updates. 

 

This brought him to tonight. The organization simply known to him as Fire Team had thought that they were onto something, but it proved useless. He had really been hoping that they would have a breakthrough soon. He was disappointed to say the least. 

 

So he was walking down the city centre street at night. Neon signs shone against the damp pavement. 

 

He let out a sigh as his phone rang.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Seunghyun, what did you hear?"

 

"Nothing, Youngbae. It was a dead end."

 

There was silence for a moment.

 

"Shit, I'm sorry. I really thought..."

 

"Ah, what's new?"

 

He looked up at the building he had stopped in front of.

 

"Look I'll talk to you tomorrow. Thanks for the call, Youngbae."

 

"Okay, take it easy."

 

Youngbae was Seunghyun's oldest friend and the only person he really trusted. He acted like an assistant of sorts also. 

 

'Night Cap'

 

He read from the pink and green neon sign.

 

"I think so."

 

And he walked in. 

 

\---

 

The bar was dark. The people who frequented were usually like him. Loners who just wanted to be left alone and have a drink. He had been there so many times that he could recognize mostly everyone every time. Although that didn't mean he ever talked to any of them. Only the bar man, who he actually had a lot of time for.

 

"Ah, Mr Choi! Welcome."

 

"How many times do I have to say it, Jae? Call me Seunghyun. We've known each other long enough, huh?"

 

Jae chuckled and began to pour Seunghyun's usual drink -- wine.

 

He took a seat at the end of the bar and watched the bartender work.

 

"I'll take the bottle tonight, Jae."

 

"Oh, bad day?"

 

"You could say that."

 

Jae handed him the glass he had poured and also the remaining bottle in an ice bucket. 

 

He held the glass and gently swirled it in his hand before taking a slow sip, savoring the taste. He closed his eyes and let out a satisfied sigh. 

 

When he opened his heavy lids again he glanced into the mirror behind the bar. A tired man stared back at him. A man with neat black hair and arched eyebrows. His dark suit was immaculate. 

 

Once he got tired of looking at himself he turned and had a scan around the room. All the usuals were there. The business man who always looked like he was hiding here from his family. The two young ladies who always drank cocktails together. The only people ever there together. As he completed his scan he checked off the other familiar faces too.

 

His eyes stopped when they reached the other end of the bar. 

 

A new face. 

 

This person was different. He was sitting at the very edge. His clothes all dark. Black. He wore ripped jeans, thick boots. His belt was studded and rested loose on his narrow hips. He wore a black tank top underneath a leather jacket. His sleeves were rolled up so he could make out that his arms were slim, but toned and they were decorated with intricate ink designs. He had numerous metal bracelets around his wrists and at least two rings on each hand. His finger nails were a mixture of black and red and jagged, but his hands looked delicate as they both gripped his glass.

 

His eyes wandered further up and saw multiple earrings in each ear. He was then drawn to his most striking feature from this distance. His thick and vibrant red hair that stuck out in different directions on the top his scalp. It was messy, but still looked styled. Like fire. 

 

'Wow.' Seunghyun thought to himself. That man sure was interesting looking. 

 

He continued to watch the figure unnoticed. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the red haired man lower his head to his glass and appear to be focusing on it. The boy closed his eyes and appeared to be breathing on his drink and after a few moments steam started to rise from the alcohol.

 

If Seunghyun didn't know any better he would have said that the boy had just heated his whiskey with his own breath. 

 

He watched as the black-clad man took a tentative sip and let the warm liquid heat his throat. He took a sip from his own wine glass and almost spilled his drink when he looked back up and saw the boy staring at him, head turned to face him. 

 

The strange man jumped down from his seat and wiped his mouth with his wrist before he started walking towards Seunghyun, not looking anywhere else but into his eyes. The sound of chains rattled with each step. Just before he reached the man he turned suddenly and exited the bar.

 

Seunghyun's heart was beating faster than ever before. He could have sworn he saw red flash in the man's eyes.

 

"Wow." 

 

This time he said it out loud.

 

"New guy."

 

Jae suddenly appeared in front of him.

 

"I've never seen anyone like him before."

 

Seunghyun replied.

 

"Interesting fella, that's for sure."

 

Seunghyun downed the rest of his glass.

 

"You can say that again."

 

He grabbed the still almost full bottle from the ice bucket and stood up.

 

"Thanks Jae."

 

"Have a good night, Mr Choi!"

 

Seunghyun chuckled as he left the bar. Jae would never call him by his first name.

 

He didn't know where he was going. He just walked in any direction.

 

The only thought in his head was that he hoped he would see that strange man again.

 

\--


	2. Red Hair

He really didn't want to go home to his empty apartment so he just started walking wherever his feet decided to take him. 

He took another swig of his wine and looked up at the sky. A few stars peeped through the dark clouds. 

He raised up his hand and imagined that he could touch them. As he looked through the gaps between his fingers he caught sight of the watch on his wrist.

It was 2.30am and the date read April 2nd.

"Shit."

He muttered to himself. It was the anniversary of the fire. The anniversary of his parents death. The parents he never got to say hello or goodbye to.

He eventually made his way up to the memorial. It was a short walk up a big hill which led into a mountain. The memorial itself was a statue of the old city with each building before the incident. It was big enough for him to stand in. Behind it was a big stone slab with each past citizens' names engraved. He approached the stone and found the familiar names of his family. He felt the dip in the stone with his fingers.

He stepped back and read over the other names and tried to imagine them all - families, friends, neighbors. 

His eyes then wandered down to some graffiti on the side of the slab. It was dripping in red paint.

"Find the Dragon. Kill it. The Dragon is real. Just sleeping."

Seunghyun shook his head and drank more of his wine.

"Fuckin' kids."

He just figured some punk kids used that old story to cure their boredom one night.

He had heard the story. The whole city had. Like everyone else, he called bullshit. It was just a story used to scare kids into behaving or to make the city seem interesting to outsiders.

Personally, Seunghyun hated it. It felt like it belittled his parents and everyone else who died. 

He felt himself getting worked up so he turned to head back down. He stopped when he saw a glimmer behind the trees ahead. He wasn't nearly tired yet so he decided to see what it was. 

He made his way through the trees and eventually broke through to see a small fire. Through the dancing flames he was able to make out something. A spiky head of hair. Red.

"Oh."

Seunghyun exclaimed to himself.

The noise made the man look up suddenly and lock eyes with the dark haired man. 

There was silence.

Seunghyun really didn't know what to do. This is the unique man from the bar. The man that he had wanted to see again and now that he was here, he really didn't know what to do.

"What you got there?"

The red haired man gestured to the bottle in Seunghyun's hand.

"Oh, uh, it's wine."

The man looked back into the flames and held out his hand.

Seunghyun found this interaction strange, but endearing so he approached him and handed him the bottle.

The man took the bottle from the taller man and drank from it. Seunghyun watched as the alcohol made its way down the red headed man's throat, who had closed his eyes as he drank. 

Once he had enough he put the bottle on the ground beside him. There was space on the log next to him so Seunghyun took it as an invitation and sat down. He retrieved his bottle and took a sip himself. 

He then offered it back to the smaller man.

"Have the rest."

The man's piercing eyes looked into his before he quickly took the bottle and downed the alcohol gulp by gulp.

Once he finished he threw the empty bottle into fire.

"Rough night?"

Seunghyun asked.

The red head furrowed his brow and licked his lips.

"You could say that."

Seunghyun watched the way the other man seemed to have a million things running through his mind. Like he had lived numerous lives. 

"You?"

He was so lost in the others' face that he was slightly startled when he saw the man turn to him.

"Huh?"

"Well, it's 3.00am and you were wandering around the woods with a half empty bottle of wine."

Seunghyun looked down sheepishly.

"So, I could ask you the same question."

The red head spoke confidently.

The taller man gazed into the fire and remembered why he was there.

"It's the anniversary of my parents death."

When the other man didn't say anything he continued.

"I just didn't want to go home."

He stared into the fire for a moment longer, lost in his thought, before he blinked and looked back to the man he was seated beside. 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

He held his hand out.

"I'm Seunghyun."

The red haired man's smoky eyes glanced down at the offered hand before returning to gaze deeply back at him. 

"Jiyong."

Immediately Seunghyun felt how warm the others' hand was.

"So what brings you up here?"

Jiyong took a moment to reply.

"I like it here. It's quiet."

"Well you seem to have a pretty good set up. You come up here often?"

Jiyong thought for a moment before nodding, gazing into the flames.

Seunghyun followed his gaze and took in the extent of the fire. He noticed there was no fuel or stray twigs.

"That's a serious fire. Where did you learn to do that?"

Jiyong smirked and turned to the other man.

Seunghyun could have sworn his eyes flashed red for a split second.

The red head just winked.

The taller man couldn't help a smile creep up on his face. 

"Well, Jiyong, I can safely say that you are the most unique person I have ever met."

That actually made the small man giggle. His eyes softened into crescents and he held his delicate and decorated hand up to cover his mouth.

He didn't know how he could, but Seunghyun momentarily found this harsh looking man cute.

A sudden shiver rushed through his body as he realized how cold the night had become. He rubbed his hands together and held them up to the fire.

Jiyong noticed this and shifted his position on the log so that his body faced Seunghyun. He held out his palms.

"Allow me."

The dark haired man was confused, but again intrigued so he mirrored the red head's position and held his hands out towards him. 

Jiyong took the larger man's bigger hands and held them in his own. Then, very slowly, he lowered his head down and let out a long and slow breath into them.

Seunghyun instantly felt his own hands warm up. Much faster and more intense than when he tried to warm himself up.

The dark haired man watched the smaller man's face. His eyebrows were arched as his eyes were shut, deep in concentration. His breaths felt so warm and calming. He was almost lost in this feeling.

Suddenly the smaller man's eyes opened and Seunghyun gasped. Red eyes glowed right back at him as he felt the warmth begin to spread throughout his whole body.

"Woah. J-Jiyong..."

Just then, the red head let go of his hands and blinked, his eyes suddenly returning to their dark colour. 

"Better?"

Seunghyun's heart was racing. 

"How- How did you do that?"

Jiyong smirked and stood up. He then began to kick some some dust over the fire until it eventually went out.

He returned to the stunned Seunghyun and held his hand down to him. Once the dark haired man took it he was pulled up swiftly.

"If we see each other again I might tell you."

Seunghyun was close to the smaller man. So much so that he could feel his heat radiating from his body.

"Will you be here?"

Jiyong smiled, let go of his hand and stepped back before turning on his heels.

"Maybe."

He called back over his leather clad shoulder as he held his hands behind his back and playfully walked away.

Seunghyun just stood there and watched Jiyong disappear into the darkness. He looked down at this hands, the remnants of Jiyong's warm breath still flowing through his fingers.

"Wow."

\--

He was woken up by a knocking. He waited a moment for it to stop, but it didn't.

"Seunghyun!"

He knew that voice. He slowly dragged his heavy lids open and turned to his bedside table. 

'8.12am'

"Shit."

He muttered and threw the covers away from him before wearily crossing the floor to reach his front door. He wiped his eyes and opened the front door.

"About time."

It was Youngbae. His light brown hair was slicked back, a few loose strands falling loosely over his temples. He wore a white shirt with the top few buttons opened and black slacks. He looked very well.

Seunghyun on the other hand...

"I was about to ask why you didn't come down, but judging from how you look-"

Youngbae made his way past the taller man and spun back around with his hands in his pockets.

"-you didn't go straight home last night, did you?"

Seunghyun closed the door and caught a glimpse of himself in the wall mirror.

He was still wearing the same suit as the day before. Just his jacket, tie and shoes were absent. 

"No I didn't."

Seunghyun plodded into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Youngbae followed and leaned back against the counter opposite him.

"Night Cap?"

The dark haired man pinched the bridge of his nose before glancing up at his friend and chuckling.

"How'd you know?"

"I knew as soon as you told me that FT came up with nothing again."

Seunghyun suddenly remembered about the let down and turned to pour the coffee into two cups.

"Yeah."

He handed one to his friend, who thanked him.

"I went up to the memorial afterwards."

"Shit, why didn't you tell me? I would have come straight up."

"Ah, I wanted to just have some time, you know. With them."

Youngbae nodded. He knew that Seunghyun always imagined what his parents looked like and that he would go up to the memorial on his and their birthdays to tell them about his day. It was one his many quirks.

"There was some graffiti that wasn't there last time, along the side. All about the Dragon."

The brown haired man took a short sip from his coffee. 

"Well, it is the 25th anniversary. I imagine there will be a lot of talk of the Dragon story around the city."

Seunghyun shook his head.

"How did it even get to this point, man? I mean do people really believe that shit?"

"They must believe it enough for the story to spread. I've heard Dragons have been spotted on the other side of the world. All over."

"It's like Santa Claus or the Boogey Man. Only this story started here."

Youngbae took the last sip of his coffee before reaching to put it on the sink over his friends' shoulder."

"Don't worry, Seunghyun. We'll find out what happened. What really happened. No fucking Dragons."

Seunghyun smiled and placed his cup down too.

"Now, hurry up and get dressed. We're late enough as it is."


	3. Fire

The day went like most others. Seunghyun worked from his office and signed papers and drank coffee. 

By the time 5pm came around he was so ready to leave. He peeked his head into Youngbae's office.

"I'm outta here. Still on for later?"

"9pm. Your place."

"See you then."

As the tall man exited the revolving doors of his building he looked at his watch. He had four hours before Youngbae was going to come over. 

Without even thinking he found his legs bringing him in the direction of the hill. It was a twenty minute walk. One he actually always enjoyed savouring and taking in the fresh air, but this time he was walking just that little bit faster because instead of a slab with names he would hopefully be talking to a very interesting young man again.

He made it to the top and past the memorial to see that familiar glow through the trees. The fire was lit and sure enough, when he made his way through, he saw his new friend. 

He was lying on his back with his legs crossed. Both hands rested on his stomach and his head lay on his bunched up leather jacket. His breathing was even and rhythmic, almost silent.

Seunghyun came right up to him and knelt beside him. Now that his jacket was off, more of his torso was exposed underneath his tank top. He noticed that more tattoos decorated the skin along his collar bone. He was able to make out inked wings wrapping around the skin from the back of his neck. Thick metal necklaces hung down onto his chest and a loose fitting black choker was secured around his throat.

His fire red hair fell down on his forehead. A lot different than the night previous. Not styled. It made him look younger. His smokey eyes were closed and his smooth skin on his face looked so relaxed. His bottom lip stuck out a bit, adding to his youthful appearance. The light from the fire danced along his features. 

He was beautiful, Seunghyun thought.

A smile spread across the kneeling man's face and he sighed contently. His breath must have hit the man underneath him because before he could breathe back in, the red head's eyes shot open.

"Ahhh!"

Jiyong yelled in surprise at the sudden proximity of the man from the night before.

This startled Seunghyun, causing him to yell in response and fall back onto his ass.

Jiyong scrambled backwards and up to a kneeling position. His eyes suddenly glowed a vibrant red and a low growl could be heard from the small figure. He looked like he was ready to pounce.

"Woah! Jiyong! It's me!"

He held out his arms in a non threatening way and slowly began to stand.

"Seunghyun, from last night... the wine guy!"

This seemed to clarify things for the smaller man as he in turn slowly stood and his eyes returned to their dark hue. His breathing was still ragged and he just stared back at the man.

Nothing was said for a moment. Seunghyun wanted to ask what happened to the red head just then, but his mouth wouldn't form words.

"What the fuck were you doing!?"

Jiyong was pissed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you!"

Seunghyun stepped forward cautiously. 

"Well, good job dumbass!"

The smaller man began to brush the loose twigs and dust from his clothes.

"I-"

Seunghyun really couldn't justify anything.

Jiyong picked up his jacket from where he was sleeping and brushed it off.

"I'm hungry."

He threw his jacket over his shoulder and brushed past Seunghyun, not looking at him.

The taller man just stood there and thought about how badly that exchange just went.

"You coming or what?"

He spun around to see the red head standing there impatiently.

"Uh, yeah."

Without another word he kicked the fire out and shuffled to the cranky man. 

They both made their way down to the city, neither saying much.

It was about fifteen minutes before they reached the edge of the city and before either of them spoke.

"Can I- Can I ask what happened there... with your eyes?"

Jiyong wordlessly took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and sparked one up. He held the pack to Seunghyun who waved his hand. 

"Don't smoke, thank you."

The red head pocketed his cigarettes and took a long drag out of his smoke, looking up to the evening sky and exhaling slowly. He did this without taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

Seunghyun knew he had heard him, but he didn't want to push him. Whatever did happen kind of left Seunghyun feeling a little uneasy. Still, he was unbelievably curious.

The smaller man eventually took the smoke out of his mouth and licked his lips. 

Just as he looked like he was going to form some sort of reply, Jiyong was tackled from behind. Before Seunghyun could react he felt something cold press against his side.

"Eyes straight and walk forward."

He did as he was told while at the same time Jiyong was being dragged in front of him and into a nearby alley way.

Once they were out of public view, Jiyong was pushed forward. He turned to the man and laughed, licking his lips.

The man approached him and pushed him back against the wall.

Seunghyun wanted to do something, anything, but the man behind him tightened the pressure on what he assumed was a knife against his body. 

"Move an inch and I'll cut you."

Well that pretty much solidified his position, so he could just watch what was transpiring in front of him.

"Lets see what you got, pretty boy."

With that, the man held Jiyong against the wall by his throat and signalled for the red head to raise his arms up until they were horizontal. He did so and dropped his jacket to the ground.

"Like what you see?"

Jiyong teased the man and grinned up at him.

"Shut it! Just gimme everything now."

"Take a good look, man. I'll tell you right now, that square in my pocket is my cigarettes. And in case you haven't noticed, these pants leave little to the imagination so unless you want a closer look you're gonna have to take my word-"

Before he could finish he felt a sharp pain in his stomach making him double over.

Seunghyun flinched.

"Jiyong!"

A knife stuck out from the red head's abdomen.

"Shut the fuck up!"

The man hauled Jiyong up again pressed him back harder into the wall. The red head was breathing raggedly now.

"I don't have fucking time for this."

The man turned to the one holding Seunghyun.

"Check him! Maybe he's got-"

He was interrupted by laughing. He turned back around to see the small man laughing and smiling back at him. He looked down to check that he did actually make contact and sure enough, there was a bleeding wound with a knife protruding from the man's body.

"What the?

"You shouldn't have done that."

All of a sudden the man felt the skin of Jiyong's thin neck heat up at such an immense rate that steam started to emit from his own hand. 

"Argh!"

Seunghyun watched it all unfold. The man recoiled grasping his hand. He looked back up at the man he had just stabbed in terror.

"What are you-"

But before he could ask, his shoes were suddenly on fire. 

Seunghyun looked back up at Jiyong who was wiping his mouth. His eyes were glowing that familiar red and it looked as though his teeth had gotten sharper. At this stage he looked pissed off as he was advancing on the men.

The man who's feet were now flaming ran back towards the entrance to the alleyway. His friend let go of Seunghyun and joined his panicking counterpart.

"Put me out! Get the fuck out of here!"

The voices got quieter and they disappeared out into the streets.

Seunghyun spun back around to see more steam coming from Jiyong and saw that he was doubled over and panting, with sweat covering his body and his hair stuck to his forehead. The red haired man grimaced as he pulled out the knife from his stomach and immediately took off his tank top. 

He held his hand up against the wall to keep himself upright, but ended up falling to his knees anyway. 

"Jiyong!"

The taller man lowered down and helped his friend sit back against the wall. The smaller man had his hand pressed against the wound on his stomach and he could see that he was doing his best to steady his breathing. Once he opened his eyes, Seunghyun noticed that they weren't red anymore. He went to help the smaller man, but he was almost too hot to touch.

"What- What will I-?"

"I'm alright."

Jiyong's voice was barely there.

"I just need water."

Seunghyun looked down at the wound. The blood pouring down over his friends delicate hands almost looked black.

"But your-"

"Please. Water."

"O-Okay, I'll be right back."

Seunghyun did as he was asked and came back with a big bottle of water. He opened the bottle and handed it to the other man.

Jiyong immediately took a few quick gulps before he lifted his arm up and poured the rest of the liquid over his head. 

He felt the cold liquid fall down over his eyes, his neck, his chest and stomach. Seunghyun watched this all happen in awe. He surveyed the red head's body and found himself lost for words. His thick silver chains hung down and dripped over his perfectly toned lean muscles, his skin decorated with expertly drawn ink designs, but also with some other not so expertly drawn designs. They looked like scars.

Suddenly an empty bottle covered his view. 

He looked up to see Jiyong staring right back at him through heavy lids. A slight smirk etched on his face.

He took the plastic from him, brushing his fingers against the other man's and noticing that his temperature had gone way down. He placed the bottle on the ground and sat in front of him, between his black denim clad legs that were outstretched in front of him. 

"Jiyong. What the hell? I don't-"

The red head chuckled and let his head fall back against the brick wall. He let out a light, but shaky sigh.

"That was fun."

Seunghyun almost choked.

"F-Fun? You were stabbed! We should be at a hospital!"

He went to stand, but felt a warm grip on his arm.

"Seunghyun."

Jiyong's tone was firm and he didn't let go until Seunghyun returned to his seated position.

"I'll be fine."

The dark haired man closed his mouth tightly and looked the red head up and down slowly.

"What are you?"

It looked as if Jiyong was contemplating, but after a few more jagged breaths he pushed back against the wall and managed to stand upright. He reached down and grabbed his leather jacket before slowly throwing it around himself. 

"Next time. Promise."

Seunghyun stayed sitting and just watched the enigma that was Jiyong slowly walk away.

The man who was now left alone let out a deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair. He looked down and spotted the knife that had been embedded in Jiyong's body just moments before. He took it in his hand and stood up. He inspected the dark blood still staining the steel and found it fascinating. 

He put the knife in his suit pocket and looked at his watch. He still had just over an hour until Youngbae was due to come over. 

So he figured he'd head home and shower and try to figure out what the hell was going on with his new friend.

\---

"Hello? Earth to Seunghyun."

His fuzzy vision became clearer when his friend's hand waved in front of his eyes. He snapped out of his daze.

Youngbae sat across from him with a beer in his hand.

He looked down to see a beer in his own hand and some snacks on the coffee table in front of them.

"Are you with me?"

His friend asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry Youngbae. My mind is just elsewhere at the moment."

His smaller friend leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, beer still in his hand.

"Hey, I know it gets tough for you around this time of year-"

"No, it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Seunghyun tapped his can with his finger, silently thinking for a moment before placing it down on the table.

"When I went to the Night Cap last night I met someone. Well, I didn't really meet him. I just... saw him. I met him after when I went up to the memorial."

Youngbae smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"So that's what got you all bent out of shape."

Seunghyun shook his head.

"No, no. It's not like that at all. I-"

He caught his friend's knowing smile and sat forward a little.

"Youngbae, he's the strangest person I've ever met."

"Oh yeah?"

Youngbae was intrigued.

Again, the dark haired man silently wondered if he should keep going. He took a sip from his beer and made his decision.

"Okay, I wasn't going to tell you this because I knew you'd flip out, but-"

"But what?"

Youngbae sat forward.

"Before I got back tonight... I kinda got jumped."

"What the fuck, Seunghyun?"

"See?"

Youngbae rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh. 

"Well, are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine. Not a scratch, but my friend-"

"The guy from the bar? He was with you?"

Seunghyun nodded. Youngbae was glad that he hadn't been alone at least.

"Jiyong. He kind of pissed them off a little."

The other could just about make out the corner of Seunghyun's mouth curl up as he recalled the story. But it leveled just as quick.

"He was stabbed."

"Oh, fuck. Man, is he-"

"This is the thing, Youngbae. He was hurt, but he seemed fine once it was all over. He stood up and walked away. Wouldn't let me take him to a hospital."

"Shit..."

His smaller friend didn't really know what to say. Luckily, Seunghyun didn't leave enough pause for him to have to.

"That's not even the strangest part."

"What do you mean?"

"You should have seen this guy, Youngbae. He..."

"What?"

"He- He lit the guy's shoes on fire."

The shorter man laughed.

"What? On fire?"

"Youngbae, it was like as if he spat the fire at him. Like a..."

"Seunghyun."

The taller man glanced up at his friend.

"Look, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I swear it's what I saw. His eyes were glowing red and there was fucking steam coming from his skin, Youngbae."

His friend remained silent.

"And I just stood there watching it all happen."

There was another silence before He felt a hand on his knee.

"You didn't do the stupid thing, Seunghyun. Your friend did and he got stabbed. And as for this fire-breathing thing-"

"Youngbae-"

"He's probably just another fanatic."

"Youngbae, you didn't see-"

"Does he smoke?"

"Well yeah."

"Then he probably used his lighter."

"What about his eyes? And the steam? And the fact that he didn't need medical attention after being stabbed, huh? Explain that."

There was a silence again. Seunghyun had raised his voice in the span of the last few sentences. He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's been a rough few days."

Youngbae placed his hand onto his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, okay? He's probably just some kid from out of town who heard about the story and knew that it's the anniversary."

Seunghyun blinked slowly while Youngbae continued.

"I'm sorry he got stabbed, but he sounds like trouble, man."

The dark haired man let out a quick breath. 

"Trouble. Yeah."


	4. Wings

Youngbae stayed with Seunghyun until midnight. They drank some more and kept the conversation light. 

When his friend left, Seunghyun tried to lie down on his couch, but he became restless. All he could do was think about what happened earlier that night. The image of Jiyong's eyes burning red while his body was steaming was still crystal clear in his mind.

That was enough. He had to see him. If he was trying to reason with the demons in his head he would say that he was going to see if he was alright. But in reality he just wanted to see him.

He shot up and grabbed his keys, not bothering to turn off the lights.

He jogged up to the now familiar clearing up by the mountain side. As he made his way through the trees he noticed that the warm glow hadn't appeared yet. 

Jiyong hadn't lit the fire tonight.

Seunghyun scanned the area and was able to make out the beat up leather jacket hanging off a tree branch on the far side of the clearing. He made his way over and reached out to feel it. He glanced up and peeked through the trees over on this side. 

The moonlight beamed through the tall leaves and as he watched the rays he was drawn to some movement.

Without hesitation, but as quietly as he could he crept through the trees and leaves until he was fully through to the other side. 

The moon was huge and bright stars danced around the sphere. It almost made him gasp. Once his eyes lowered from the night sky he saw him. 

Jiyong was sitting at the edge of the cliff with his feet dangling over the side. His vibrant red hair was lit up by the moon. He was facing the moon so he hadn't noticed Seunghyun yet, but also because he was preoccupied.

As the tall man closed the distance between them he was able to see what the red head was doing. 

Jiyong held a needle delicately in his left hand and was gently pulling the string attached to it away from his stomach.

He was stitching himself up.

Seunghyun was now right behind the smaller man and he knelt down at his back. Jiyong now knew he was there, but he kept on with what he was doing.

The dark haired man surveyed the other man's back. He could easily make out his spine, each vertebrae protruding through his skin. The scars that he had seen from earlier were ever present on his back too. 

But what kept Seunghyun's attention were two large markings right along both of Jiyong's shoulder blades. 

Without thinking, Seunghyun reached his fingertips forward to trace the markings along the smaller man's rough skin, but before he could make contact, he heard a small voice.

"Come here."

Seunghyun's hand flinched away. He peered over the red head's shoulder to see his head turned towards him.

"Yes you."

Without a word, the dark haired man moved to sit beside Jiyong, kicking his legs down to mirror his position.

He looked down to see a jaggedly sewn up wound with dried blood crusted around the stitching. The smaller man still held a piece of the string in his hand and his other was pressed down over the wound.

"Can you hold here for me please?"

Seunghyun reached down and pressed two fingers just beside where Jiyong's were. This allowed the red haired man to lift his own and tie the string in a knot.

"Okay, let go."

The tall man did so and Jiyong cut the string with one of his sharp nails.

"Voila."

Jiyong wiped his hands together before placing them on the dust behind him and leaning back. He began swinging his feet playfully over the cliff edge.

Seunghyun looked him up and down, as if searching for something.

"You used a lighter, right?"

Jiyong turned his head and looked at him quizzically.

"Hm?"

"And what like some type of aerosol?"

"What are you talk-"

"What else, huh? Contacts lenses? A fucking smoke machine?"

Jiyong almost looked offended. He blinked for a moment then turned to face Seunghyun fully. He inched closer until their noses were almost touching and looked straight into his eyes.

Then without saying anything, his eyes slowly began to glow. The red seeped into his irises and shone brighter then before.

Seunghyun gasped and could only watch the sight in front of him. Jiyong then opened his mouth into a grin, his teeth now sharper and more jagged than he had seen before.

"You don't understand."

The red head stated, voice almost like a growl.

"No."

Seunghyun confirmed.

"But I want to."

He added.

Jiyong then stood up and looked down at the man. His red eyes glowed in the moonlight.

He held out his hand. Seunghyun took it instantly and was pulled up. Jiyong didn't let go.

"Are you sure?"

Seunghyun gripped Jiyong's hand tighter and nodded.

Without another word, Jiyong pulled Seunghyun close and held him tight to his own body, before leaning back and letting them both fall from the cliff.

"Woah! Jiyong! What are you doing!?"

Seunghyun panicked as they both went soaring down towards the ground.

"Jiyong! Jiyong!"

Suddenly Seunghyun felt a pressure and a force pulling him up and he noticed he wasn't falling anymore.

He looked above him to see Jiyong's arms still wrapped around his body and his legs wrapped around his waist. But what scared the life out of him were the giant wings that were coming right out of the red head's back and were now carrying them through the air.

"Holy shit! Ji-"

He cut himself off once he caught a glimpse of the view of the night sky. 

It was beautiful.

Now that they were gliding through the air there was a calmness and a silence. Just the sound of Jiyong's wings cutting through the wind and the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat against his body.

Seunghyun was speechless. He felt the grip around his waist tighten before they took a smooth turn and ended up heading back to where they had been. 

Jiyong swooped down and gently released his grip on Seunghyun, safely landing back on the cliff face.

The tall man instantly turned around to catch the wings folding back into Jiyong's body. The red head grimaced slightly at the sensation. It was never a nice feeling. 

Seunghyun walked up to Jiyong so that they were inches apart, slightly out of breath from adrenaline.

"You know what I am."

The dark haired man nodded.

"Yes."

"Then say it."

"You're-"

Seunghyun almost couldn't believe what was happening.

"You're the Dragon."

Jiyong closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. He reached forward and held the back of the taller man's head and gently rested his own forehead against Seunghyun's.

"You've no idea how long I've been alone."

Seunghyun breathed out.

"Ji, please tell me the stories aren't true."

The dragon blinked once more before pulling back. He stared right into Seunghyun's eyes. His red orbs glowing once more before being hidden behind heavy lids and returning to brown.

"Seunghyun, I've never and will never intentionally kill a human. I promise."

The dark haired man smiled and reached forward to embrace the dragon.

"You're not alone anymore, Ji. Not as long as I'm here."

And for the first time in years, Jiyong genuinely smiled.

\--

Jiyong stood on the door step peeking into the open doorway. He leaned his head in to see if he could see where Seunghyun had gone, feet still cemented to the ground. A moment later, the dark haired man appeared from around the hall way.

"Well, don't just stand there. Come in."

The red head was holding his hands in front of him, playing with his rings.

"I've never been in someone's home before."

Seunghyun chuckled at how cute and young the smaller man looked. He approached Jiyong and gently took one of his hands. He pulled with very little force until the dragon was inside his doorway. He let go of the delicate hand and closed the door before turning to his unusually shy friend and smiling.

"Welcome to my home."

Jiyong slowly sauntered forward into the main living area. Seunghyun followed close behind.

He was in awe of everything. The colorful paintings on the wall. The unique chairs placed perfectly beside each other. The grande fireplace and the shining black tiles in the kitchen. 

Once the red head had done a lap he turned and looked at his friend with his hands by his side, his fingers fidgeting with his rings.

"I don't know what I should do."

He spoke quietly, making Seunghyun chuckle again.

"Well, first off, let me take your jacket."

The dragon instinctively put his arms around himself.

"Why?"

Seunghyun stopped just in front of him with his arms out.

"So I can just put it over there on that hook."

He pointed to the coat rack by the door and smiled back at the smaller man. After a moment Jiyong hunched his shoulders back and let the leather slide down his arms. He handed the taller man his jacket who in turn straightened it out and hung it up neatly.

He turned back facing his friend.

"Good. Next are your shoes."

"Oh, okay."

The red haired man instantly sat on the floor and began to pull off his boots, sticking out his tongue as he made the effort.

Seunghyun felt a smile spread on his face. Jiyong looked like a little boy.

The red head stood up and came over to where his tall friend stood. He noticed his shiny shoes on the floor so he put his beat up boots next to them. 

He straightened himself and looked up at Seunghyun.

"Okay, now what?"

He almost sounded excited.

"Now-"

Seunghyun started as he grabbed the dragon by his shoulders.

"-you take a shower."

 

-

 

While Jiyong was in the shower Seunghyun had placed one of his spare black t-shirts and a pair of black jeans, that was going to be a gift for his nephew, and a pair of boxers outside the bathroom door for him.

He took the dragon's clothes which were flung on the floor and brought them to the washer. He held out the still warm black tank-top and shook it out. He noticed some burn and singe marks along the fabric and wondered was it from the times when he heated up. But on closer inspection he could also make out a tear in the fabric and what looked like some dried in blood. 

This was the shirt that he was wearing when he was stabbed.

'Did he have any other clothes?' Seunghyun thought.

He picked up the scruffy black jeans and unhooked the studded belt from the waist. There were more chains he had to unhook and his packet of cigarettes too. He didn't see his lighter, but figured that now that he knew what Jiyong was, he didn't really need to hide the fact that he could light a cigarette with his mouth if he wanted to.

Once he was certain there was nothing else he threw the clothes in the machine and started the cleaning cycle.

Just then, the doorbell rang so the tall man crossed the hallway to answer the door.

"Youngbae?"

"Hey, I'm sorry to call around so late. I think I left my glasses here last night."

"Sure, no problem. They're probably in the kitchen."

He opened the door wider to let his friend in.

"Nice jacket."

Youngbae pointed at the leather.

"Not really your style, Seunghyun."

The taller man rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's not mine."

Youngbae looked down and saw the scruffy looking leather boots next to his friends'.

He looked back up at him quizzically.

Before Youngbae could press further a voice came from across the hall.

"Seunghyun, where did you put my-"

Seunghyun whipped around to see Jiyong standing there rubbing a towel through his damp hair. He was wearing the clothes that were left for him. The t-shirt which was miles too big for him had its' sleeves ripped off and hung loosely from his slight frame. The jeans were also too big for him so they were rolled up at the bottom and without his belt the waist hung low on his hips. 

"Oh, um, Youngbae. This is my friend I was telling you about."

Seunghyun, who was a bit flustered, ushered Youngbae down the hall to reach the red head.

Once they were facing each other and Seunghyun was between them, Youngbae held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Youngbae."

The red haired man looked down at the hand presented to him before glancing up to Seunghyun, who in turn gave him a look.

The dragon looked back at the man in front of him and took his hand.

"Jiyong."

Youngbae instantly felt how warm the smaller man was. He was slightly taken aback, but cleared his throat and released his grip.

"So Seunghyun told me you ran into a bit of trouble last night. I hope you're feeling better."

Jiyong instinctively rested his palm against the fabric over his stitched up wound. 

"Much better, thank you."

There was a silence between the two for a few moments before Seunghyun remembered the reason for his best friends' visit.

"I'll go grab your glasses, Bae."

He shifted passed Jiyong, causing the smaller man to turn behind and watch him move away. 

This gave Youngbae a chance to get a good luck at the man without being impolite. 

He was thin, he thought, but not weak looking. Lean would be a better word. Where the sleeves were ripped hung quite low so he could make out what looked like tattoos and maybe some damage to the smaller man's body. He glanced up at his face and made out the pair of wings tattooed on his neck and the bundle of chains that hung from them, his choker clinging to his throat. 

Once he caught a view of the red head's profile he surveyed the shape of his nose, his forehead, his chin, his jawline and slightly baby faced cheeks.

Suddenly the dragon turned back and caught the other man looking a bit distracted.

"You okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm good."

Just in time, Seunghyun returned.

"Got 'em."

Youngbae grabbed them and thanked whoever it was looking down on him for the timing.

"Thanks, man."

With that, Youngbae made his way to the door.

"It was good to meet you, Jiyong."

"Yeah, back at ya."

The brunette nodded and held up his glasses before leaving. Seunghyun closed the door and joined Jiyong in the living room.

"He seems cool."

Jiyong observed and shrugged.

"He is. He's been my best friend since we were kids."

He gestured for the dragon to sit. Jiyong did, but on the floor in front of the couch.

Seunghyun smiled and sat on the floor opposite him.

"I told him about the attack and that I thought you were a lot like the stories, but he didn't believe me."

Jiyong rested his arms up and the couch behind him and smirked.

"As far as he's concerned, you're just another fanatic."

"Oh, I'm much more than that."

The red head let his head fall back onto the couch. For a moment he was still, but then he turned his head to the side.

"Are those your parents?"

Seunghyun noticed he was looking at a picture frame.

"Yeah. I never really knew them."

Jiyong turned back to him.

"How did they die?"

Seunghyun looked at the frame again.

"In the fire. I was the only survivor."

He kept gazing at the photograph until he noticed that the other man hadn't said anything. 

He looked at him and saw that the red head was looking down at the floor, brows furrowed and breathing heavy.

"Are- Are you okay?"

Jiyong didn't respond. Seunghyun shimmied next to him and could make out a low growl emanating from the dragon. He rested his hand on his chest and felt the vibrations but also felt how hot the man was. 

"Ji? Jiyong?"

Still nothing.

He shook the man's shoulder, but he was still unresponsive. 

"Jiyong?"

He raised his voice and shook harder, but still nothing.

He felt the man heat up even more.

"Fuck it."

And without any more hesitation, Seunghyun whipped his arm and slapped Jiyong as hard as he could across the face.

The dragon's head snapped to the side. 

Seunghyun could feel his own breathing quicken. 

"J-Ji?"

All of a sudden, the dragon roared and burning red eyes lunged at the taller man. Seunghyun was pushed backwards onto the floor and Jiyong was on top of him, eyes piercing, teeth sharp and nails like claws. It felt like a tonne of bricks was on top of him. 

"Woah! Jiyong!"

The dragon growled and leaned down closer so that their faces almost touched.

Seunghyun gulped and tried to calm himself down.

"Jiyong, listen to me. It's Seunghyun. I need you to calm down and focus on where you are."

The red eyes remained unmoving, but Seunghyun could feel the growls become less intense. 

"That's it. Just relax. You're okay."

The dragon blinked before he let out a hot breath. His eyes rolled back and his body suddenly fell. Seunghyun instinctively caught the smaller man and rolled so that he was gently holding his head in one hand and lower back in the other.

He lifted him so that he lay on the couch. 

"Ji? Can you hear me?"

The dragon's hand reached up and clutched onto his friends'. The heat radiated into Seunghyun's grasp and his eyes slowly opened.

"Hey, there you are."

A low groan came from the smaller man.

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Jiyong went silent as he tried to recollect the last five minutes. Once he seemed to remember he raised his free hand up to his forehead.

"I'm sorry. Sometimes I get... overwhelmed."

He focused on trying to even his breathing. Seunghyun smiled and sat on the edge of the cushion.

"There's no reason to be sorry, okay? It was a bit scary, but everything's fine now."

Jiyong smiled slightly before frowning.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

His tone was serious and genuine. The taller man took a moment to think whether he should tell him what happened, but the dragon seemed stressed enough as it was.

"No, Ji. You just kind of... weren't there for a while. Don't worry."

Seunghyun did his best to sound as reassuring as he could.

Once the red head was at ease he ended up falling asleep there on the couch. His grip on his friend's hand only loosened when he lost consciousness.

Seunghyun smiled warmly and placed a blanket over his sleeping friend. He knelt down beside him and gently brushed his hand through his vibrant red hair, admiring his peaceful expression.

"Goodnight, little dragon."

 

\--

 

Seunghyun insisted that Jiyong stay with him once he found out that the dragon didn't actually live anywhere. The red head explained that he just stayed up on the mountain to avoid having to interact with anyone.

Seunghyun soon began to learn the little traits and quirks that a dragon possessed.

He didn't eat as much as a human. Maybe once a day, sometimes not at all. 

He was prone to getting agitated or annoyed a lot faster than humans too. He found himself having to calm the smaller man down a number of times, albeit not to the extent of the time he blacked out. 

He was always warm. He varied in temperature, but he was always warm to touch, which was more than likely the reason he wore thin shirts or sometimes nothing at all on top. 

On one of the occasions where he was shirtless, Seunghyun had been surveying the dragon's back and became cautiously curious.

Jiyong was standing at the kitchen counter with his back to Seunghyun waiting for the coffee to brew. The taller man was sitting on the opposite counter.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Depends what it is."

Jiyong replied smartly.

"What happened to you?"

The red head turned his head to look over his shoulder.

"The scars on your body."

He was met with silence before Jiyong turned back around to continue watching the coffee maker.

Seunghyun thought he wasn't going to answer and was about to apologize for asking, but eventually came a response.

"Not so long ago, some people got hold of me and..."

Seunghyun could sense the other man's apprehension. He saw his head drop forward and his grip on the counter tighten.

"...well they weren't very nice."

The dark haired man wanted to be sensitive and not press Jiyong when he was obviously uneasy, but his curiosity got the best of him.

"Because you're a dragon?"

He watched the red head raise his head swiftly and turn to face him in one spin.

"Yes, because I'm a dragon."

"I see."

Seunghyun was beyond intrigued.

"And what about your parents?"

Jiyong blinked slowly before answering.

"It's so long ago now that I can't even remember."

"You don't remember your parents?"

Jiyong shook his head. Seunghyun was fascinated. 

"Ji, how old are you?"

The dragon shrugged his shoulders. 

"Almost 100, maybe. Give or take."

"Wow!"

Seunghyun jumped down from the counter.

"You look younger than me."

Jiyong laughed.

"Being a dragon has its perks."

Seunghyun joined in his laughter.

"Sure, that and the breathing fire and ability to fly."

Jiyong pushed forward from the counter and pointed to the scars on his body.

"Yeah, and being t-"

He stopped himself before he finished his sentence. He looked down at himself and eventually dropped both arms to his sides.

Neither man was laughing anymore.

"Ji, I'm sorry. I never should have asked."

He stepped closer to the smaller man.

"It was a long time ago."

Seunghyun's feet were now touching Jiyong's. He leaned his forehead down and rested it against the dragon's.

"Still, I'm sorry that whatever happened to you happened."

The red haired man leaned his forehead into the other man's and looked up into his eyes. After a moment of just this, he smiled.

"You're the only friend I've ever had."

Seunghyun smiled.

"I'm honoured."


	5. Responsible

Youngbae had noticed that his best friend was spending a lot of time with Jiyong lately. So much so that he was beginning to skip work days or if he did show up his mind would be elsewhere. 

What he was the most unhappy about was that their time outside of work had diminished also ever since Seunghyun's new friend had entered his life, both their lives.

One night after a particularly long and stressful day, which was also a day where Seunghyun was not present, Youngbae decided to stroll home. The night air usually calmed him and helped him to de-stress.

He didn't live too far from Seunghyun, but he decided to take the scenic route today which was more along the outskirts of the city.

He eventually ended up wandering by the memorial. He caught sight of the graffiti which decorated the slab of names. 

"The Dragon"

He read from the paint.

"You have so much power and you're not even real."

He said out loud.

He was about to turn to head home, but stopped when he heard something. It was a noise coming from beyond the trees.

He approached the tree line and as he got closer he could see what looked like flickering lights. He stayed down low to avoid being seen and kept making his way closer until he could make out two figures.

"Come on, Ji. You promised you'd do it properly this time."

It was Seunghyun and his red headed friend.

"Alright, alright. Last time."

Jiyong said before he took in a breath and blew out.

Youngbae could hardly believe his eyes when he saw bright flames spit from the red head's mouth and into the campfire below them.

"Holy shit."

He whispered to himself.

He then was able to make out what he thought was steam coming from the smaller man's body as he began panting.

"Ji, I swear no matter how many times you do that it will always be the coolest thing ever."

Seunghyun patted the other man on the back and handed him a bottle of water, which Jiyong downed.

Youngbae was having a difficult time comprehending that this small red haired man was actually a dragon. He wouldn't and didn't believe it if he hadn't just seen it with his own eyes. 

"Okay, let's head back. I don't want you to overexert yourself."

"Gee, thanks. Your concern would be a lot more sincere if you weren't the one asking me to fly you around and breathe fire in the first place."

Jiyong joked as they both walked through the trees, not bothering to kick out the fire.

Youngbae entered the clearing and stared down at the flames.

"Amazing."

He looked up and surveyed the area. He walked to the far side of the brush and just followed along the trees.

It was getting darker where he was heading and he was just about to turn back when he saw what looked like another flame. This one was a lot smaller and was lit up on top of a stick.

Once he got close enough Youngbae was able to make out that this was a cave.

Once inside he used his phone as a torch and shone the light up at the walls.

What he saw made his heart almost stop.

There were drawings all along the walls of the cave.

The first one was of a cityscape at night and a red dragon flying overhead. 

The next one was a crowd of people catching the dragon in a net holding flaming torches.

The next one was of the dragon flying over the city with flames everywhere.

As Youngbae got to the last panel he gasped.

It was of skeletons on the ground and the dragon sitting on a half burnt building. 

'I killed them all'

'They're dead because of me'

Written in red scrawled writing just below the painted dragon.

The panels were then cut off as vines had grown beside the wall.

"Holy shit. He did it. He's responsible."

Youngbae immediately took out his phone and took pictures of the wall paintings. Seunghyun couldn't have seen these. If he knew...

Once he had clear images he ran back towards the fire and back down into the city.

"I'm sorry, Jiyong, but he needs to know what you did."

He was about to let Seunghyun know what really happened to his parents.

 

\--

 

It was 8.00am and his phone was ringing. Seunghyun jolted and rolled over to his phone in an automatic response. 

"Yeah?"

He spoke groggily.

"Seunghyun, you need to come into the office now."

The half awake man groaned.

"Youngbae, can't it wait?"

"No, Seunghyun. It can't."

He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"Alright, gimme half an hour."

Seunghyun dragged himself out of bed and showered lazily before making his way to his building. Once the elevator reached the top floor he stepped into his office to see Youngbae already waiting. The brunette was leaning back against his friend's desk.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring your friend with you."

Seunghyun sensed a hostile tone from the smaller man.

"Jiyong? No, he's at to his place." 

It surprised Seunghyun to hear his best friend talk like that. 

"Youngbae, what is this-"

"His place? You mean the woods up by the memorial?"

The taller man was at a loss for what to say.

"What are you-"

Youngbae stepped forward away from the mahogany desk.

"I saw you guys last night, in the woods. I saw him-"

He hesitated as he recalled what he watched.

"-I saw the Dragon, in full display."

Seunghyun was silent for a moment as he took in what his friend had just said. He folded his arms and took a breath.

"I told you what I thought of him. What I thought he was. Youngbae, you convinced me it was all bullshit."

Youngbae raised his palm and blinked slowly.

"Look, I know what I said and I really did think it was bullshit, but last night was pretty damning evidence."

Seunghyun could guess where this line of conversation was going.

"Youngbae, I know what you're thinking and believe me, I thought the exact same thing."

He stepped towards his friend who now had his own arms crossed.

"But Jiyong had nothing to do with what happened. He told me himself and I trust him."

"He's lying, Seunghyun!"

Youngbae exploded when he heard how the dragon had been playing his best friend.

"Youngbae, I really don't think-"

"When you guys left last night I had a look around up there."

Seunghyun put his hands on his hips.

"At what? He sleeps next to the fire. That's it."

"No, there's a cave."

Seunghyun blinked, surprised.

"What?"

"Further up the tree line there's a cave."

The tall man looked down as his friend took out his phone. The smaller man stepped towards him and showed him the screen.

He stared down at the phone and examined the photographs he was shown.

As he flicked through the pictures Youngbae watched his friend's face get gradually more pained as they went on. Once he saw the last one and what was written below the dragon he closed his eyes and gulped.

"I'm sorry, Seunghyun, but he did it."

The taller man opened his eyes which were now misty and stared back at the screen.

"He couldn't..."

He whispered almost inaudible.

"He's responsible for it all. He murdered your parents."

Seunghyun's nostrils flared as his brows arched. 

Youngbae felt a sudden grip on his shoulder when his taller friend took hold.

"Call FT."

He spoke without looking at his brunette friend.

"Tell them the memorial in 30 minutes."

Without another word Seunghyun spun on his heels and swiftly left the building.

Youngbae thought he would feel lighter after telling his best friend the truth, but he didn't. He felt heavier.

\--

Jiyong was by the fire he had just started. It was early in the day, but there was a slight chill in the air. Despite his body always being warmer than humans he was still susceptible to the elements.

He was poking at the fire playfully, but stopped once he heard a rustling from the trees behind him. He spun around suspiciously, but relaxed when he saw his friend.

"Seunghyun, I thought you were-"

He was cut off by the tall man pacing towards him.

He took a step back instinctively before the looming figure reared back and punched him in the face. Hard.

The red head fell backwards and the tall man took advantage by grabbing him and tackling him the ground, landing on top of him.

"You're a fucking liar."

Seunghyun was irate.

Once Jiyong's head stopped spinning he tried to focus on what was happening, the weight of his friend pressing into his tough body.

"W-What?"

"I know it was you."

Seunghyun accentuated his last sentence by pulling the red head up towards him by his collar.

"Seunghyun, I don't-"

The tall man pushed the smaller man back down against the ground and grabbed him by the throat. 

Deep down he knew Jiyong was stronger than him, but he also knew he wouldn't fight back and risk hurting him. He had trained the dragon to control his rage blackouts better. So he took full advantage of this. 

"I know about the cave. I saw the drawings and I saw what you wrote."

He could feel Jiyong gulp underneath his strong grip around the his throat.

"S-Seunghyun, you don't-"

"I trusted you!"

Seunghyun was now beginning to tear up with how angry and betrayed he felt as he tightened his grip.

"L-listen to me-"

The taller man could feel the man below him heat up as he struggled to get a sentence out.

"You destroyed a whole city, Jiyong. Hundreds of lives!"

The dragon felt a tear drop fall on his own face from above.

"My parents..."

Jiyong was about to try to speak again before he heard a rustling from the trees. 

He looked over behind Seunghyun to see Youngbae followed by a group of people all in protective gear and with equipment.

To hell with keeping his rage bottled up. He was in danger.

He let the heat consume him as his eyes glowed that familiar fire red. He growled and felt his teeth sharpen and the flames rise from his chest.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to cause damage he felt a hand cover his lips.

He blinked back up at Seunghyun who stared down at him through angry tear filled eyes.

He knew that the other man's hand was being burned by the heat of his own breath alone, but Seunghyun didn't seem to care.

The dragon glanced once more at the armour clad people who were now just meters away and ready to approach.

He knew he was fucked. He closed his eyes, signaling to Seunghyun that he wasn't going to hurt anyone and forced the fire that was raging of inside him to dim. 

The taller man slowly removed his burnt hand and watched the red head he had called his friend open his brown eyes again and look right up at him.

"Please."

The dragon whispered before Seunghyun blinked down at him and sat up.

"Take him."

The look that overcame Jiyong's face almost made him instantly regret what he had just said. Heartbreak.

Without another word, the FT closed in and placed a guard roughly over the dragon's face. He instinctively struggled and the taller man felt this as he stood up and off of him. 

More of the team closed in and restrained the dragon. He kicked and growled and struggled. A bag was placed over his head and he was roughly hauled up to his feet. 

Seunghyun stood beside Youngbae and watched as the now feral dragon was dragged away. He shook his damaged hand to alleviate the pain.

He put his good hand over his eyes and wiped away the moisture with his thumb.

"What will they do with him?"

Youngbae sighed.

"I don't know. He's The Dragon, Seunghyun. Years of stories that turned out to be true? The scientists in A Lab are gonna have a field day. And now that we know he killed the entire city... it's not going to be fun for him, man."

Seunghyun looked down at his best friend with a worried expression. The smaller man placed his hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"We did the right thing, Seunghyun."

The taller man folded his arms and kicked a rock into the fire that the dragon had started.

"Yeah."

He said to himself, trying to convince himself that he believed that.


	6. A Lab

Seungri clocked in that afternoon expecting just about the same thing as he did every other time. A boring day where no progress was made and with him just standing outside the entrance watching the day go by.

It was days like this that made him question why he became a guard. He grabbed his usual coffee plus one and went to make his way to his post. 

He signed the log and smiled when he saw his coworker stood by the door up ahead.

"Hey, Seungri."

He handed his friend the extra coffee.

"Hey, Dae. How are you this morning?"

"I'm excited!"

Seungri took a sip from his cup and scrunched his eyebrows together.

"What? The girlfriend pregnant or something?"

He smiles cheekily as his friend lightly hit him on the shoulder.

"No, smart ass. Haven't you heard? They caught the Dragon. He's being brought in as we speak."

Seungri straightened up.

"Holy shit! Are you serious!? I thought it was just a story."

"Apparently not."

Daesung drank from his cup and grimaced at the taste.

"Word is, Youngbae sir called in early this morning. It's crazy right?"

Seungri placed his hands on top of his head, interlocking his fingers and let out a deep sigh.

"Sure is, Dae."

Just then an armour truck pulled up.

"Shit. You think this is them?"

Daesung perked up and stared at the van.

The heavy doors of the vehicle swung open and the two guards immediately could hear inhumane sounds.

The first thing they saw was steam come from the vehicle.

They saw some people drag out somebody from the back and haul them down the entrance way.

The figure was clearly not willing as his legs flailed around trying anything to get away. Three people were holding him by his arms which were restrained tightly behind his back, one of them also holding him by the back of his neck and keeping his covered head down low. Another person grabbed his legs to make the task easier. 

Seungri saw the bag over the dragon's head and noticed that his shirt was almost ripped completely off of him. He briefly was able to make out markings on the figures damp body.

He almost forgot what his job was before opening the door along with his friend to let the commotion into the building. 

As the hoard of people made their way in he caught the last person remove his helmet and rub his sweating face with his gloved hand. The man made eye contact with the blonde and shook his head sighing.

Seungri nodded and closed the door behind him.

Daesung stared over at his friend, mouth hung open.

It was silent again.

"Holy shit."

Seungri was speechless.

His friend turned and leaned back against the wall.

"Well, things are sure gonna get a lot more interesting around here."

\--

Over the next few days Seungri and Daesung saw an increasing amount of foot traffic coming in and out of the facility. 

People they had never seen before, important looking people were coming for what they could only assume was to get a look at the dragon. Each of them looking paler exiting the building then they were when they entered. 

Exactly one week after the dragon was brought in, Seungri and Daesung were clocking off at around 11pm.

They were standing at their lockers as Seungri was removing his shirt.

"Was kinda quiet today right?"

Daesung asked his friend to confirm his thoughts as he placed his shoes at the bottom of his locker.

"Going from the past few week, yeah it really was."

Seungri answered, resting his shirt on a hanger and throwing on a sweatshirt.

They finished getting dressed and clocked out. As they were walking down the corridor towards the exit, the door behind them burst open.

"Move!"

They both spun around and pressed against the walls as three doctors in white coats zoomed by with a man on a stretcher with his whole left side bandaged up followed by two men running behind them. One of them was holding his head tightly.

Once the group passed them, they followed them outside to see an ambulance waiting at the entrance. The men were loaded in the back and two of the doctors hopped in behind them before the ambulance sped off, sirens wailing.

"They were from A Lab!"

Seungri observed.

Daesung turned to him.

"You don't think..."

The doctor who remained behind made his way back up to the entrance.

The two guards saw that he was sweating profusely and out of breath.

"Are you okay?"

Seungri asked the distressed looking doctor.

He took one last breath before answering.

"I'm fine, but Park is most definitely looking at second degree burns."

"Holy- What happened, doc?"

The doctor looked back to where the ambulance left for a moment before returning to look at the two guards.

"Lee, is it? And Kang?"

"That's right."

"Tomorrow morning, 8am, I need you both to report straight to A Lab."

Daesung stuttered and looked to his friend.

"W-What about the ent-"

"I'll get some new recruits to resume your posts. Where you will be is more important. Do you understand?"

Seungri glanced at Daesung and nodded.

"Uh, y-yes sir. Of course."

"Good. Thank you both."

The flustered doctor took one last look out to the entrance before letting out a deep breath and returning inside.

The two friends gave each other a concerned look.

"Night Cap?"

Daesung suggested.

"Oh, most definitely."

\--

Seungri and Daesung had decided to meet up before their shift and head in together. 

So there they were. Walking down the long corridor towards A Lab. They were nervous and curious at the same time. They had never been this deep into the facility before. You needed a stronger security clearance, which they guess they had now.

They turned a corner and were met by a taller man dressed in similar gear to theirs only more bulky.

"You must be Lee and Kang."

"Yes sir."

Seungri confirmed.

"My name is Han and I'm the chief guard in A Lab. Now, if you'll both follow me to the briefing room I need to go over a few things."

The two men did as he asked and found themselves in a small room with benches and a desk. 

They each took a seat as Han leaned back against the desk.

"Alright, gentlemen. As you may know, you were asked to transfer here due to an incident that happened last night."

Both friends looked at each other.

"By this stage it should be no surprise that we are holding the dragon here."

Daesung cleared his throat.

"Uh, yes sir. We saw him being brought in."

"I see. Then you might have caught a glimpse of how uncooperative it is. Park and Kim are evidence of that."

Neither man said anything. The man straightened up from the desk.

"Which is why you will be required to wear this flame resistant suit whenever you enter the chamber with it."

He showed the two guards the gear. It looked like riot gear almost.

"A few rules. Never go in without the protective gear. The two of you must always enter together. A scientist must never enter alone. And for God's sake, don't remove the dragon's mouth guard or release it from his restraints without being told to. Do you both understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now, gentlemen. Whatever you see in there must never be discussed with anyone outside A Lab. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

Daesung replied as Seungri nodded.

"Alright. Suit up."

\--

Seungri and Daesung were led by Han down to the A Lab security door. He granted them both new clearance status and opened the big metal door.

As soon as they walked in they noticed the big foggy window up ahead. But before they made there way up to it they took in the sight of the scientists and computers scattered around the room outside.

They neared the window. Han approached the glass and rubbed against it with his sleeve and peered through.

"Good. It seems to have learned its lesson."

Seungri glanced through the small clearing that his superior has made in the glass. He just about managed to make out sprinklers on the roof that were spitting out water rapidly.

Han pulled a lever on the wall beside the door turned to one of the scientists.

Daesung heard a noise and looked at Seungri before confirming that the sprinklers had been shut off.

"Any trouble?"

The large man asked the scientist.

"Not a peep all night."

"Okay, good. After what Seunghyun was able to tell us it seems that water subdues it somewhat. Thanks doc."

The man in the lab coat nodded and Han turned to his two new guards.

"After what happened we set off the sprinklers. Left them on all night. Freezing cold. So it should be lucid enough."

The big man glanced back in through window.

"Yeah, we're gonna need it upright."

He looked back down at the nervous men.

"Okay, here's what you do. Approach carefully. Remove the face mask and the face mask only. Leave the arm and leg restraints on."

The men nodded.

"Then secure it's neck to the restraint on the far wall and return here. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

Both men nodded.

"It's your first time. It's okay to be a little jittery, but once it knows who's boss you'll forget you were ever nervous at all. Just think of the story and what it did."

"Yes sir."

They repeated.

Han opened the heavy door, causing steam to immediately escape through the hole.

Without another word the two men stepped inside the chamber. Seungri scanned the room, but found it difficult to see anything through the steam.

"There, Seungri."

Daesung pointed to the ground where the moisture seemed to be clearing.

There he was. The Dragon.

His back was to them. As they got closer the image of the dragon became clearer. 

He lay in the now inch thick pool of freezing cold water, only wearing tattered black jeans. His legs were secured together by thick chains. His arms were also tied tightly together behind his back all the way from his biceps down to his wrists. 

Both guards knelt down just behind the dragon's shivering body. This was the closest either of them had seen him. The skin of his torso shone from the water, but was also steaming from his body. Seungri took in the sight of the intricate tattoos, the angry looking scars and the fresh bruising all over the dragon's skin.

Daesung could see how heavy the creature was breathing and could hear his breaths through his mask.

Without another word, the blonde reached forward and took the dragon by his strained shoulder. The soaked man exhaled in surprise as he was turned onto his back. 

His breaths quickened because he couldn't see what was happening.

Seungri held him by his shoulders as Daesung reached around and unhooked the shield from around the dragon's jaw, slowly removing it.

The two men gasped as what they saw was not what they expected at all.

Bright red hair fell damp over beautiful, but pained eyes. Seungri was shocked that the infamous dragon looked like nothing more than a boy not much older than himself. His face was bruised, no doubt after what had happened the night before, but both he and Daesung could see the boys' beauty underneath. 

The dragon blinked a few times before barely opening his eyes wide enough to look up at the men above him.

"I'm s-sorry, I didn't... mean to-"

The low almost inaudible voice was so quiet and hoarse that both guards had to lower down closer to hear him.

"...I don't w-want to... hurt any-one..."

The two friends glanced at one another, not too sure about what to do next despite being given clear instructions.

"All right boys, doing good. Keep going."

The intercom instructed. Han must not have heard what the dragon had said.

The static voice reminded them both of their task.

"Please, be quiet."

Seungri said to the dragon before taking one arm. Daesung took the other and both hauled the red head up. 

The smaller man groaned at the sudden movement, cold water dripping from his hair and body and steam evaporating from his heat inside.

They dragged him over to the wall and turned him to face them. He looked so worn out, eyes already closed again. They pushed him back so that the restraint attached to the wall was secured around his neck. 

It held him up straight and looked so uncomfortable. It was just high enough off the ground for the smaller man to be on his tippie toes and with his arms being stretched behind him there was no way for him to give himself any support.

Seungri and Daesung surveyed the dragon and saw just how sad he looked. He wouldn't look either of them in the eye. Instead he kept his gaze down and remained quiet like the blonde guard had told him.

"Okay, bring it back guys."

They both slowly turned from the sad sight and left the chamber. 

Seungri immediately removed his helmet and wiped his brow.

"Not quite what you expected, huh?"

Han looked down at them and smiled.

"No... no he isn't."

That whole day was tough on both Seungri and Daesung. They didn't really understand the physiology of the dragon or the we his body worked, but they did learn a few things about him by simply witnessing what was going on.

Once they had secured him by his neck to the cold wall, Han started to taunt him through the intercom. They kept reminding him of how many people he had murdered and how long he should suffer for it.

He knew what they were doing. They were trying to make him angry so he would rage. Keeping him in such an uncomfortable position and hurling abuse at him would have been more than enough to set him off a month ago. But since his time with Seunghyun training to control his anger and his reaction to it, his changing became much more voluntary.

Once Han had finished shouting his blunt and demeaning words, the Dragon shifted his head to try to alleviate some of the pressure on his throat caused by the collar.

"S-Stop wasting your energy."

Daesung's eyes were glued to the red head's defiant and dismissive expression.

"I'm n-not going to change any time s-soon."

Seungri glanced over at Han to see his brows arch and bottom lip protrude in frustration.

"Doc!"

The big guard called him over.

"Serum 88."

"But it's not ready, s-"

"Get it now, doc."

Han spoke firmly, still not looking away from the dragon.

The doctor cautiously retrieved what the guard had asked for. He handed the bigger man a syringe with a black liquid inside.

Han took it and eyed the substance before turning to Seungri and holding it out.

"The whole dose, directly into it's stomach."

The blonde examined the serum through wide eyes. He glanced back to the dragon for a split second before taking the needle in his hand and slowly entering the chamber, Daesung right beside him.

They both approached the bound man and stopped right in front of him. The red head had watched their entire approach through heavy lidded eyes. He also watched how the needle shook in the blonde's hands.

"Are you s-sure you know w-what you're doing, B-Blondie?"

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

Seungri honestly admitted before carefully placing the needle against the dragon's rough skin and applying pressure until it was buried into his flesh. He pushed the black substance into the smaller man's body and quickly pulled the syringe out of him. He red head didn't look away from the blonde.

He didn't move for a moment and didn't register that anything was happening. Seungri was about to take a step closer but stopped once the red head closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. 

"I-If I were you..."

Daesung noticed a drop of sweat make its way down the red haired man's face and his chest move faster in and out.

"... I w-would get out of here... right n-now."

The two guards recognized that it was said more as a warning than a threat. 

The dragon let out a pained groan which started to sound more like a growl. Suddenly he opened his eyes and they were fire red.

"Leave!"

As Seungri grabbed Daesung and ran he swore that was the most terrifying sound he had ever heard. Deep and animalistic, but so severe and humane at the same time.

The two friends jumped through the door way and shut it behind them just as fire erupted from the dragon and engulfed the chamber.

Han had a huge grin on his face.

"It worked!"

Daesung and Seungri turned to the glass and could just see flames violently bouncing against the panel. The dragon's roar was terrifying.

"What's happening?"

Daesung asked out of breath.

"He's raging."

The doctor began. 

"It's when his true dragon form emerges. It seems that this serum can bring it out of him, but I fear..."

He listlessly said as he looked at his watch.

"What?"

Seungri asked.

"It was only designed to last a short time."

The doctor looked worriedly over to Han who himself did look a bit unsettled when it sounded like the glass was starting to crack.

Suddenly the fire stopped. The three guards and the doctor stared into the now smoke filled room to see what was left.

Red eyes, but not against the wall. 

In the middle of the room.

"What the hell?"

Han muttered.

There, right in the center of the room stood The Dragon, in his full form. Eyes piercing fire red. Fang like teeth. Razor sharp claws. But what was the most magnificent were his fully expanded wings which took up almost the whole chamber. 

He looked fierce and wild and seemed to be staring right through the glass. The chained restraints hung tangled around his limbs almost looking like jewelry.

"Holy shit!"

Daesung exclaimed.

The dragon roared with anger and looked like he was about to go for the glass so Han ran to the switch on the wall and swiftly pulled it, setting off the sprinklers. 

Steam instantly filled the room as it attacked the dragon's red hot skin. His painful cries could be heard through the glass.

"What did I do?"

The blonde whispered to himself.

Seungri felt his friend's hand on his shoulder give him a reassuring squeeze, realizing Daesung had heard him.

Han shut off the water. Once the steam began to clear, little bursts of light could be seen. They were flames. 

The dragon was lying on the once again soaked floor curled into a ball clutching his stomach and coughing violently. Every time he coughed he spat up fire.

The serum clearly had a bad effect on the dragon's body. He was not in a good way. 

The doctor got up close to the glass to get a better look. He didn't like what he saw.

"Han?"

The man in white turned back to the guard, essentially asking what now?

"Keep working on the serum, doc. Focus on reducing the flames. We start again in the morning."

Han walked right up to the window and rested his hand on the glass.

"I want those wings."

Once out of his daze, he turned to his two guards.

"Good work today guys. Give it some water before you leave if you want. I suppose it earned that much, but if you ever start to feel sorry for it just remember what it did."

With that, Han left.

The doctor glanced over at the two friends and nodded.

"I'll see you both tomorrow."

Then the doctor returned to his lab leaving the two stunned guards in silence.

Seungri rubbed his hands through his hair and sunk to the ground letting out a deep sigh.

Daesung lowered down to a squatting position and took off his gloves, throwing them in front of him.

"This is fucked up."

It was Daesung who spoke first. The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose.

"If I'd have known that it would have- I-I would have never...I-"

"Don't, Seungri. We went in blind today. How could we have known?"

"I could have refused."

"Then you would have been fired and I would have had to quit then who knows where we'd end up."

The blonde looked up at his friend.

"He's just a kid, Dae. He could have been our friend."

"Then let's treat him like one now."

Daesung gave a reassuring smile and helped the blonde stand. 

They looked back through the glass to see the red haired man still writhing on the ground tangled loosely in his chains.

Daesung got a flask of water and they both entered the chamber. The heat instantly hit them. It must have been over thirty degrees celsius.

They neared the dragon cautiously, making sure not to startle him. The first thing Daesung did was gently take hold of the loose chains and slide them away from the dragon's aching body. 

"Hey."

Seungri whispered and lightly rested his fingertips on the red head's upper arm. The dragon flinched at the touch and whimpered.

It was so strange to see the fearsome dragon literally set a room on fire minutes before and then cower away from human touch.

The red head was no longer coughing so Seungri removed his visor, Daesung did the same.

"Hey, it's okay."

The blonde was doing his best to sound as non threatening as possible.

"Everybody else is gone, okay? It's just us here now."

The dragon, still curled up into a trembling ball turned to face the soothing voice above him. All he saw lately had been visors. It had been ages since he'd seen an actual face. 

Seungri saw the tears that fell from the hurt man's eyes and felt a lump in his throat.

"We're not going to hurt you."

The smaller man took a moment to switch his gaze to Daesung, checking him out as a threat, before returning to look at Seungri.

The blonde was smiling down at him when he felt a grip on his hand and a tremendous heat. He looked down to see the dragon's trembling hand in his own. He was squeezing the blonde's hand to help distract himself from the pain and heat inside of him.

Seungri looked up at his friend who was smiling warmly back at him. The brunette gently placed his palm on the dragon's side along his ribs. He wasn't rejected which he was glad about, but he could feel just how hot the smaller man was.

"My name is Seungri and this is Daesung."

The red head shut his eyes tight momentarily as a wave of pain hit his stomach. 

"J-Jiyong."

Seungri was momentarily taken aback that the dragon had an actual name. 

"Okay, Jiyong I'm going to move you so we can give you some water."

Jiyong hesitantly nodded and felt himself being lifted up almost into the blonde's lap. His head fell back against the other man's shoulder and Daesung tipped the flask into the dragon's mouth.

They watched the smaller man do his best to pace himself. He knew the drill from countless times before.

Once the water was gone Jiyong just lay there, heavy lids barely open.

Seungri felt like he was holding a ball of fire in his arms.

"Jiyong, we need you to know that tomorrow is going to probably be a lot tougher than today. They're adjusting the serum."

Daesung spoke plainly, but with a soothing tone.

The dragon blinked slowly and let out a long breath.

"Did I h-hurt anyone this time?"

The two guards looked at each other.

"No, Jiyong. You didn't hurt anyone."

Daesung reassured him.

"You don't remember?"

Seungri asked.

"J-just feelings. It f-felt like my brain w-was on fire."

Seungri automatically tightened his grip on the dragon's hand.

"So when you rage you don't remember it afterwards?"

"Just f-feelings."

Jiyong repeated tiredly.

The friends noticed that the dragon was starting to lose consciousness.

"We're going to stay with you tonight, okay? We won't leave you alone."

Jiyong suddenly remembered when a friend told him the exact same thing.

"N-No."

The dragon struggled to sit up and slide off of the blonde's lap. Daesung tried to help him stay upright, but the red head batted his hand away.

"I-I've killed hundreds o-of people..."

Jiyong recounted as he crawled to the corner. He lay down hugging himself close and faced into wall.

"Don't feel s-sorry for me."

Seungri reckoned that Jiyong had heard Han tell them both that earlier as the dragon spoke like he was quoting someone.

Daesung stood and pulled his friend up with him.

"Come on."

He whispered.

"We'll be back tomorrow, Jiyong."

With that, the two guards left the broken dragon in the corner, hurt and alone.

"I'm tired of being angry."


	7. Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains violence

Seungri didn't sleep that night. All he could think about was how sad the dragon had looked.

Jiyong.

The fearsome Dragon that had scared children for decades was nothing more than a young man who's ability to cause damage seemed not entirely voluntary.

The more Seungri thought about the story itself the less it seemed like Jiyong. He knew that stories were embellished over time, but the red haired boy was definitely 'The Dragon' because he was the only dragon ever recorded near the city.

The man he saw curled up on the floor was not the viscous creature from the stories. Maybe the dragon who exploded in flames with piercing red eyes was, but Jiyong didn't remember when that happened. It's like he blacked out whenever he raged.

So Han's reasoning was not going to settle Seungri's or Daesung's conscience.

And just knowing that Jiyong would have to go through that again in a few hours tore the blonde apart.

He sat up from his bed and reached for his phone. He found 'Dae' in his contacts.

S: Can u sleep?

D: Not at all. When I close my eyes I see him.

S: Me too. 

Seungri looked at his watch. He would have to leave again for work in an hour.

S: Wanna get coffee?

D: Thought you'd never ask. Meet u in 20.

-

"Dae, I don't think I can keep up with this."

"I know what you mean."

The two friends sat outside the cafe which was only around the corner from the facility.

"He can't be responsible for what happened back then."

"Seungri, he's the only dragon we've got."

"I know."

The blonde replied, defeated.

Daesung stirred his coffee.

"What if we tell someone what's going on in there?"

Daesung suggested.

"Who? We're not supposed to talk about Jiyong outside A Lab."

The blonde recited.

Daesung thought for a moment.

"Choi Seunghyun."

Seungri instantly let out a laugh and slapped the table.

"Choi Seunghyun? Are you kidding? We wouldn't get within ten feet of the man."

"We could-"

"Forget it, Dae. There's no way."

The brunette sighed and looked down at his watch.

"We better go."

The two men knocked back the last of the coffees and walked towards hell.

\--

Seungri and Daesung entered A Lab to be greeted by one of the doctors.

"Ah, you've arrived."

"Morning, doc. What's going-"

Dae began before the doctor grabbed his forearm.

"Han's been here since 6am. I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen."

Seungri approached the glass and peered through. 

The large guard was standing over the small figure of the dragon. He was panting and wiping his knuckle with a cloth. The cloth was red.

"Shit!"

Seungri muttered.

"Dae, come on."

Both guards entered the chamber, the noise they made causing Han to turn to face them.

Daesung caught sight of the red haired man and gasped.

His face was a mess. Blood poured from his head down onto his soft features and bruises covered his body. 

He wasn't moving.

"S-Sir?"

"Ah, boys. Just in time."

Seungri just stared down at the dragon.

"Sir, what did you do?"

"After last night we can't have it break free again so..."

The tall figure gestured down to the beaten dragon.

"I weakened it."

Neither man could say anything, just look down in horror at the amount of blood sprinkling the walls and floor.

"Now, let's get it upright. It's time for it's medicine."

Seungri hated the way Han called Jiyong 'it'. He was a person who could feel just like him.

The two friends apprehensively approached the unconscious man and gently held his arms, turning back up to their superior.

Daesung cleared his throat sadly.

"W-Where do you want him?"

"Here."

Han pointed to the wall and the two men lifted Jiyong up. They saw two restraints up high on the wall. They looked stronger than the restraint they had secured his throat to before. 

They took an arm each and raised them up to secure the dragon to the wall. The red head's body was stretched up, exposing his protruding ribs and the extent of the fresh bruising. There had to be some internal damage, despite his tougher exterior.

Jiyong's unconscious and damaged head hung down onto his chest completely unaware of what was about to happen.

Once his arms were chained above him, Han pulled on the metal to test it.

"Three times as strong as steel, heat resistant and completely-"

He grabbed the dragon's chin and held up his bloody face.

"-Dragon proof."

Han smiled and patted Jiyong's baby face lightly before letting go and letting it fall back to his chest.

"Wait here a moment."

The tall guard instructed as he left the chamber.

Seungri immediately turned to Jiyong.

"Oh my god."

He traced his fingers along the angry bruising that covered the smaller man's body.

Daesung reached up and wiped some blood from the dragon's lip with his thumb.

"How can he-"

Han suddenly returned with the doctor in tow carrying a syringe with the familiar black liquid inside. 

The large guard took it from the doctor.

"Serum 88B. I worked on it all night."

The doctor explained, his tone somewhat reluctant. Daesung guessed he wasn't really on board with everything.

"The fire?"

Han asked.

"Should suppress it completely."

"Good. Gives me time."

Han was staring into the black liquid as if it was his own blood. 

"Okay, boys. Show time. Who wants to do the honors? Kang?"

He knew it wasn't a question. It was an instruction. 

Daesung gulped as Han held the syringe to him. The brunette took it and faced Jiyong.

"Same drill as yesterday. Right in the stomach."

He cautiously sunk the needle into the dragon's flesh and pushed the black serum into his bloodstream.

Seungri watched the red head's face for any signs. 

Daesung removed the empty needle and handed it back to the doctor.

Everybody watched the still figure in anticipation. 

After a few agonizing moments, the dragon stirred. The chains rattled when Jiyong tried to move. His closed eyes closed a little tighter as his brow furrowed. A low growl was heard and his breathing quickened.

"Stay sharp, guys."

Han said, reaching into his back pocket and kept his hand there.

Suddenly the dragon's eyes shot open. They were that familiar fire red colour. He growled violently and exposed his sharp teeth. 

He started to steam, but no fire came. Instead he just roared and thrashed in his restraints. His legs weren't bound so they kicked around wildly causing the men to step back. 

"No fire."

Seungri stated.

"Good job, doc."

The taller man said.

The dragon roared loudly and hunched down before his wings sprung out from his back painfully.

"Now!"

Han shouted as he pulled something from his back pocket and approached the dragon's left wing. 

He placed a giant nail against the tough flesh and hammered in hard.

The dragon roared and thrashed in his bonds.

"What the hell?"

Seungri turned to the guard and had the hammer thrown to him.

"Get the other one!"

Han yelled and threw another nail to Daesung.

Both men hesitated. Han was now pushing against the dragon's body due to his increasingly violent movements.

"Don't just stand there! Do it!"

Their superior yelled at them.

The brunette braced against the wing with his left hand and held the nail against it with his right. He looked back to his friend and sadly nodded.

Without a word Seungri brought down the hammer against the nail and sent it right into Jiyong's wing causing him to roar in pain. 

They immediately both backed away, Daesung dropping the hammer to his feet.

"Okay, out now."

Han instructed and the four men exited the chamber.

The large guard went straight to the wall on turned on the sprinklers.

The chamber instantly filled up with steam and roaring could be heard through the mist. 

Seungri felt his stomach drop as he heard the inhumane roars slowly transition into very humane screams.

The steam eventually cleared to reveal Jiyong, eyes brown, teeth and hands returned to normal, with his wings nailed to the wall and unable to retract. 

He was screaming and crying, trying to break free from his harsh restraints. He was so distressed.

The doctor raised his hand to his mouth thinking he would be sick.

Seungri felt a tear fall from his eye.

Daesung felt like his heart had been ripped out.

Han put his hands on his hips and let a sick grin fill his face.

"Now I've got you."

\--

Daesung stood over his blonde friend who was heaving in the bathroom. 

"It's okay, Seungri."

The blonde raised his head from the bowl and wiped his mouth.

"It's so far from okay, Dae and you know it."

Seungri sat back on the tiled floor and hung his head back until it hit the cubicle door. Daesung lowered the seat and sat on it.

"Yeah, I know."

"I told him we weren't gonna hurt him."

"I know. It's like I wasn't even myself. I don't know what happened."

The brunette replied, disappointed in himself. 

Seungri rubbed his hand through his hair.

"His screams, Dae. I mean, what is he planning? The wings."

Daesung shook his head.

"I don't know, but it can't be good. We need to do something before he kills him. And he will, Seungri. The way he looks at him..."

"Agreed. Tomorrow. First thing. Let's just hope Han doesn't do anything crazy in the meantime."

With that, the two friends reluctantly returned to their post.

\--

 

Youngbae spent the last week feeling like he was above himself just watching what was happening. He hadn't really spoken to Seunghyun, but whenever he would see him he seemed closed off and sad.

That was the last thing he wanted. He thought his best friend was in danger. Being so close to The Dragon couldn't have been good for him. 

Then again, Seunghyun had been having a tough month and when Youngbae had watched his friend talk about Jiyong he seemed full of energy again.

And he didn't entirely hate The Dragon either.

Youngbae spun in his chair and looked out his window. His office was right across from the FT Facility.

Maybe...

How long had it been since their last inspection?

Youngbae was technically qualified. 

He did one more full rotation in his chair before he made his decision and left his building to head for the FT Facility.

Once he entered the guard at the desk looked genuinely surprised to see him.

"M-Mr Dong? To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I'm here to inspect the A Lab facilities."

"Of course, sir. The Dragon has been the cause for many visitors lately. Most I've had to turn away."

Youngbae took out his I.D card.

"I have full clearance."

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to- I'll send for a guard to escort you."

"It's no problem."

After a few moments, a blonde guard appeared from down the corridor.

"Lee Seungri reporting."

Youngbae smiled at the young man.

"Good to meet you, Lee. I'm Dong Youngbae."

The smaller man held out his hand. Seungri was shocked to say the least, eventually shaking the other man's hand.

"Wow. It's good to meet you, sir."

Youngbae laughed.

"Lee, would you kindly escort Mr Dong to A Lab, please?"

The blonde turned to his superior apprehensively.

"Sir?"

"Yearly inspection."

Youngbae explained.

The younger man looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Of course. This way, sir."

Seungri led Youngbae down the corridor slowly and steadily.

"Mr Dong, sir. Can I ask you something?"

"Youngbae, please."

The smaller man kindly spoke. Seungri turned to him, but kept walking.

"Youngbae, we only had an inspection two months ago. And usually, if I may speak plainly, they aren't carried out by the assistant to the CEO of our funding company."

Youngbae smiled and let out a short laugh.

"Okay, you got me. Seungri was it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well Seungri I'm not here for an inspection. Not really."

The young guard looked confused.

"I'm aware of The Dragon situation. I'm actually the reason he's in here if I'm being honest."

Seungri tensed, but was still just as confused.

"Have you met him?"

Youngbae asked.

"Yes, sir."

"He's an interesting guy, right?"

Seungri admittedly didn't know much about Jiyong other than how badly he was being treated.

"He got close to a very good friend of mine. My best friend. And the truth is, I sent him away because- well because I was jealous."

The blonde didn't have any idea what to say. What could he say? Luckily he didn't have to say anything as the other man continued.

"I masked it with the idea that I thought he was dangerous.That he deserved to be punished for what happened to the city, but ever since..."

He stopped walking. Seungri stopped too and turned to him.

"...I don't know. I can't help but think I made a mistake."

The blonde swallowed hard.

"Sir, I-"

He hesitated.

"You can tell me, Seungri."

Youngbae's concern grew.

"It's bad, sir. He's barely alive. Han, my superior, he's- he's cruel and..."

The shorter man watched the blonde's features sadden.

"He's just a kid, Youngbae."

Suddenly the guards radio sounded.

"Seungri, come in!"

It was Daesung.

"Go ahead, Dae."

"You need to get down here now! It's Han! I tried to stop him! He's locked himself in the chamber-"

Seungri glanced at Youngbae.

"Oh shit... We gotta move!"

Seungri led the way as both men bolted to A Lab.

It was chaos. 

The doctors were all at the door to the chamber trying to figure out the mechanism for the lock.

Daesung was at the glass banging and shouting.

"Han, stop! Jiyong!"

The blonde and his smaller superior instantly heard screaming when they entered the lab.

"Daesung, what's going-"

The brunette didn't even notice the extra person in the room. There were tears streaming down his face causing dread to bubble in his friend's chest.

"Seungri! Help! He's-"

The blonde crossed to the window and looked in.

"Oh my..."

Han was standing in front of Jiyong, blocking the dragon from their sight, but they could make out how much pain he was in.

The large man suddenly threw something on the ground before reaching up and pulling the nail out of the dragon's left wing. They looked down to see that he had actually dropped a saw.

"No..."

Daesung whispered.

With one last swift yank the wing came clean from the dragon's body with a sickening crack.

The red haired man screamed in agony. Blood dripped all down his left side and he kicked and cried as he was mutilated. He was becoming delirious from the pain. 

Han held the dragon's wing in both hands and threw it to the floor before picking up his saw again and moving to Jiyong's right side. 

"Han! You fucking psychopath! Open the door!"

Seungri yelled and banged at the glass, doing anything to break through.

As all of this was happening, Youngbae was behind them frozen in shock.

He thought that Jiyong would have been roughed up a bit due to his past with the city, but he never in a million years would have imagined anything like this happening. He thought there would be legitimate medical experiments. Not this.

This is an image he would never be able to get out of his head.

He eventually took a step forward and kept walking until he was touching the glass with his palm.

He felt like everything was in slow-motion. He turned to his right to watch the doctors scrambling to try to get the door to open. Then he turned to his left to watch the two guards in hysterics trying to break the glass down. 

"Wait."

He spoke out loud this time before reaching into his pocket and taking out his keycard.

"Full clearance."

He ran to the keypad and swiped his card. The metal door slid open and Seungri and Daesung immediately ran in.

They were too late. 

Han was holding Jiyong's other detached wing in his hand and laughing maniacally.

Seungri felt rage boil up inside of him. 

"Han!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs before charging towards the taller man. Daesung joined his friend and began to scrap with the psychopath.

The bigger man was just too strong. He swung around and rammed Daesung into the wall before swinging the opposite direction and throwing Seungri to the ground. But just as he managed to gain his bearings he was met with a blow to the head and down he went. 

Youngbae stood over him holding a hammer. The same hammer that was used to drive the nails into the dragon's now mutilated wings.

"Motherfucker."

He spat down at the unconscious man. 

Immediately he dropped the hammer and turned to Jiyong.

He was semi conscious, not able to focus on anything or anyone. Out of it from the pain and blood loss. Even a dragon would need more than water to recover from this.

Daesung and Seungri got up and went straight for the restraints.

They freed the red head and gently lowered him to the ground. Daesung laid him in his lap as Seungri lightly patted his cheek desperately.

"Jiyong? Ji? Please."

Youngbae lowered to his knees and stared down at the dragon. The guilt weighed on top of him like a boulder. Jiyong was torn apart.

"I'm so sorry."

Without another word he took out his phone and dialled.

'Seunghyun.'


	8. Cold

Choi Seunghyun sat on his roof looking up at the evening sky. It was getting dark. His favourite time of the day. As the light turned into darkness.

That's kind of how he felt lately. He felt like there had been more darkness in life ever since...

Ever since Jiyong was taken away.

The dragon wouldn't leave his mind. It had been a week since FT had taken his red haired friend away. He didn't have the courage to enquire about what was happening in the facility.

He felt like he was a coward. Jiyong was his friend and he was Jiyong's only friend. He wanted so desperately for him to be there with him and to be able to joke around with him again.

He missed him.

This last week he hadn't really been living. Just existing.

He began to think about the day that the dragon was taken away. How angry he had been. How Jiyong just let him be angry and how his friend had pleaded with him.

He was cruel to him. Didn't let him even speak to explain.

All of a sudden Seunghyun decided that he would go up to the mountain and see this cave for himself.

The trek there was quick as the man was hurrying.

Once he had reached the familiar campfire, Seunghyun remembered where Youngbae had described the cave as being situated. He followed the directions and sure enough he reached the painted walls.

He shone his phone at the stone and took in the image of the drawings.

The dragon flying over the city.

The dragon trapped in a net.

That must have been when Jiyong got a lot of his scars Seunghyun thought.

The dragon breathing fire.

Seunghyun moved close to the last panel as he noticed something.

"Red eyes."

Had Jiyong gone into one of his rages? Had he blacked out? Was he even conscious?

Seunghyun noticed that some vines had grown over part of that last panel so he pulled at the green plants until they broke away.

There was another panel.

It was of a man with red hair beside a campfire. Over him there was some writing.

"I killed everyone. I didn't mean to. I am so sorry."

Seunghyun read out loud and ran his fingertips over the writing as he spoke the words.

"Oh, Jiyong."

He began to tear up.

The light from his phone caught something on the ground. Seunghyun bent down and picked it up.

It was something wrapped in some soft fabric.

Just as he was about to open it his phone suddenly buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Seunghyun, it's Youngbae."

The tall man could sense the quiver in his friend's voice.

"Is everything okay?"

There was a pause.

"No. It's- It's Jiyong."

Seunghyun felt his heart skip a beat.

"I'm at the facility. You better- You better come."

Seunghyun instantly hung up and wrapped the item in his hand, stuffed it in his pocket and took off towards the FT Building.

 

\--

 

Seunghyun burst in through the front doors completely out of breath and panting.

The guard at reception almost fell from his seat.

"Mr Ch-Choi? Sir, it's an honour-"

The tall man didn't have time for this.

"Where is the dragon?"

The guard was taken aback to say the least.

"A Lab, Mr Choi. Do you need me to call-"

"Thanks."

With that, the tall man took off. Following the signs he sprinted towards the lab.

He eventually reached the heavy security doors and swiped his card. The metal slid open and he stepped inside.

There was nobody in the immediate vicinity when he entered the room, but he could see a glass panel which belonged to a cell-like chamber. There were some noises coming from in there.

He made his way slowly into the chamber.

Then he froze.

The first thing he saw was red. Blood pooled on the floor and sprinkled on the walls. 

Then he saw red hair.

Jiyong.

It took him a few seconds to register that there were some other people in the room. Two of which were holding the dragon.

"Seunghyun."

The tall man blinked and looked to his friend.

"Y-"

He almost couldn't speak.

"Youngbae. What-"

He stopped himself as he took in more of the scene in front of him.

The men holding Jiyong were guards. Another bigger guard was lying on the ground a few feet away.

Seunghyun's eyes moved next to his kneeling friend and he swore he felt his heart stop.

A wing. Jiyong's wing.

He raised his hand up to his mouth, unable to believe what his eyes were showing him, feeling ill.

He stepped closer. As he did so, Youngbae took Daesung by the shoulder signalling for the guard to move back a bit to let Seunghyun get at the dragon.

The taller man approached the others and kneeled down in his friend's blood.

Jiyong was a mess. Almost unrecognisable. The confident and cheeky young man was nowhere to be seen. His leather jacket and chains replaced by skin and bone and blood.

The dark haired man surveyed his smaller friend. He took in every single drop of blood which covered his face and dropped down over his biceps and chest. Every bruise that decorated his skin almost as intricately as his tattoos. 

He took his friend's limp hand in his own and held tight. He made contact with the smaller man's chest with his other palm and gently glided it up to his shoulder and around the blade to his back.

That's when he felt it.

A sharpness jutting out from where his wing would be. He glanced around to see a crudely cut and jagged bone piercing through his skin. 

He removed his hand from the mutilated wing and saw that his own skin has been covered with dark blood.

He clenched his bloody fist. Feeling rage fill his body. But quickly the rage turned to sadness as his eyes moved to Jiyong's face.

His familiar child like features were switched off as the dragon was now unconscious, but he looked troubled. Like his pain was seeping through into his dreams.

"Jiyong..."

Seunghyun felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll explain as much as I know, but we need to leave, Seunghyun."

Youngbae spoke quietly and waited for his friend to slowly nod.

Without a word, the taller man hooked his arm under Jiyong's knees while resting his other across his back and picked the broken dragon up.

He slowly turned and walked out of the chamber.

Youngbae stood and turned to the two guards.

"Bring... them."

He pointed to the two severed wings and watched as Seungri and Daesung took one each and followed Seunghyun. 

He followed behind and closed the door behind him, locking Han in until he could inform the authorities about what he had done.

Seunghyun ended up bringing Jiyong and everyone else back to his place. 

He gently lay his red haired friend down on his couch, not caring that his perfect couch became saturated in blood. 

As soon as he was certain that there was no strain on the weakened dragon he stood up let out a shaky sigh.

"What the fuck were we funding, Youngbae?"

His smaller friend was leaning with his hand against the wall and the other wiping his forehead.

"Seunghyun-"

"What the fuck happened!?"

The irate man suddenly remembered the guards from before when he saw them rest Jiyong's wings on the kitchen counter.

"You two. Are you responsible for this, huh?"

Seunghyun glared at them with his hands on his hips.

Seungri stuttered as he tried to form a coherent reply. Daesung faired no better. They had never met Choi Seunghyun before and now that he was yelling at them they froze. Luckily Youngbae helped them out.

"They were trying to help him, Seunghyun."

The taller man turned back to them.

"Mr Choi, sir."

Daesung began.

"We were transferred to A Lab just a few days ago."

Seungri nodded.

"At first we just followed orders, but once we saw what they were doing to him-"

Daesung glanced at his friend and frowned.

"We gave him water when we could and tried to comfort him."

The blonde informed the taller man.

"Seunghyun."

Youngbae was now closer to his friend and spoke sincerely.

"I felt awful for what I did. Really."

The brunette blinked slowly, feeling a lump in his throat.

"So I went to see what was going on. That's when-"

Youngbae was having difficulty.

"That's when I saw what that... animal was doing."

The smaller man's fists clenched as he recalled what he had seen.

He blinked and looked back up at his friend.

"Lee and Kang helped me put him down so we could free Jiyong together."

Seunghyun took a few moments to think about his friend had just told him. He stepped to the two guards and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. 

"Thank you both. Jiyong is my friend. I am grateful for everything you've done for him."

Seungri and Daesung looked at each other and smiled.

"Thank you, sir."

The blonde replied in thanks.

"Please, it's Seunghyun."

The taller man bowed slightly and smiled at them.

They were interrupted by a noise coming from the couch.

They all turned to see Jiyong beginning to shift.

He groaned as his eyes tightened, pain beginning to make itself aware the more he woke up.

As the feeling intensified he became more agitated. 

"Ji!"

Seunghyun leapt down to the dragon's height and took his writhing body in his.

"Ji, hey. It's okay. You're safe."

The dragon didn't hear him. His fists clenched and his skin became drenched with sweat that mixed in with dried blood. 

He began to whimper and growl as the pain really started to affect him.

"Shit."

Youngbae exclaimed, kneeling and placing a hand on the red head's knee.

As the dragon's breathing quickened, steam soon began to rise from his body and his temperature increased.

Seunghyun turned to the two guards.

"Lee, was it?"

"Seungri, sir."

"Seungri, go run a cold bath. Now."

"Of course!"

"I'll get towels!"

Daesung added as they set off in search of the bathroom, bumping into each other as they ran.

Seunghyun did his best to try to calm the distressed dragon below him, but Jiyong was in agony and continued to shift and groan in the taller man's grip.

Tears fell from the red haired man's eyes and Seunghyun felt the same threaten to happen to him, but he didn't let it. He had switched into care mode.

He instantly picked up the dragon and brought him into the bathroom, Youngbae not far behind.

Seungri had just filled the tub to the top.

Seunghyun stepped in fully clothed and lowered down, holding Jiyong close in front of him and leaning the dragon back against his own body.

He felt his lungs expand. The cold water making it tougher to breathe evenly. 

As soon as the dragon touched the water the steam doubled in volume, but seemed to clear quickly. 

Seunghyun held the smaller man tight and close to his body. Youngbae dipped his hands into the water and used them as vessels to pour the cold water over the dragon's body. 

Seungri and Daesung remembered how the sprinklers affected Jiyong back in the chamber so they helped him and mirrored his actions. As they worked the water slowly began to turn red from the blood washing off the dragon's body.

Seunghyun could feel the fragile man in his embrace begin to cool down and his breathing begin to even out. 

Once he seemed satisfied that the dragon's heart rate was at an acceptable level and that his temperature had dropped sufficiently he signalled for the others to stop.

"Would you mind leaving us for a moment?"

Youngbae nodded.

"Of course. Come on guys. Think we could use some coffee."

Seungri and Daesung smiled and nodded.

"Love some."

Once Seunghyun was alone he instinctively tightened his hold on the smaller man, being careful not to shatter the already broken dragon.

What was left of his spectacular wings were digging into his chest, but he didn't care at all.

Suddenly he felt the small body tense. He must have become aware.

"Shhh. It's okay, Ji. It's me. You're safe now."

The smaller man seemed to understand somewhat as he relaxed and his head fell foreword.

Seunghyun was about to let him rest when he felt the Dragon begin to shake slightly.

He looked around and saw that Jiyong was crying. 

"Ji?"

"I-I'm sorry, S-Seunghyun."

The taller man felt like he had been punched in the stomach.

"For wha-"

"I k-killed your family... I-I don't... r-remember, b-but I kn-know what I-"

Seunghyun instantly hugged the crying man as tight as he could into his soaked black suit without hurting him and took his hand.

"Jiyong. Don't you ever apologise. Do you hear me?"

Tears continued to fall from the dragon's eyes. 

"I will never blame you. I'm so sorry that I ever did. And I'm so sorry for sending you to that place. I had no idea they'd do this to you."

Tears were now falling from the dark haired man's eyes. 

"I'm so sorry, Ji. Please forgive me."

Jiyong held onto Seunghyun's hands around his waist under the cold water and leaned back into his embrace. The taller man leaned his head down over Jiyong's shoulder and into the smaller man's neck.

They stayed in the water all night, neither caring if they froze together. 

 

\--

 

The Dragon and his tall friend stayed in the cold bath until early in the morning. 

Seunghyun just about avoided hypothermia. He really wanted to keep Jiyong comfortable, but he was dangerously cold. Youngbae insisted he get out and get warm.

Once the dark haired man was at an acceptable temperature again he helped Jiyong get fully clean from all the blood and changed him into a pair of his own cotton shorts to help keep him cool.

The red haired man sat at the edge of the large bed, knuckles clenching the fabric of he duvet. Seunghyun knelt in front of him and dabbed at his collar bone with a damp cloth.

He noticed his smaller friend tensing.

"Am I hurting you?"

Jiyong shook his head.

"It's just the last of the serum. Hasn't fully left my system yet."

Seunghyun frowned.

"Serum 88."

The red head nodded slowly.

Seunghyun sat up on the bed next to his friend.

"Is there anything I can do to make it easier?"

Jiyong turned to him slowly and smiled.

"Just keep doing what you're doing."

Seunghyun returned his smile and looked into Jiyong's tired eyes. His face was still harshly bruised.

The dark haired man gently took the red haired man's shoulders and began to pull him to lie down.

"Can you lie down?"

Jiyong knew he was referencing his broken wings, but he continued to lie so that his head was resting in Seunghyun's lap. The jagged bones weren't too uncomfortable for him.

The red head looked up at Seunghyun and smiled.

"See?"

Seunghyun nodded and began to gently wipe Jiyong's face with the cloth, brushing his damp hair away from his forehead.

He didn't speak for a moment. He just watched his friend's gentle features enjoy the feeling of the cool cloth. It was so nice to not see him in pain.

"Will they grow back?"

Jiyong blinked before looking straight up into Seunghyun's dark eyes.

"I-I don't know."

"Ji."

Seunghyun wasn't really sure what he was expecting him to say.

"Being a dragon isn't so simple, Seunghyun. There's no crash course. I had to figure everything out by myself."

The dark haired man suddenly remembered that the dragon told him he never knew his parents. 

"You grew up alone."

He confirmed solemnly.

"That's right."

Seunghyun took his friend's warm hand in his own and rested it on his waist.

"Please don't pity me."

Jiyong began.

"It was tough, sure. The first time I breathed fire. Learning to fly for the first time. Knowing that water kept me... calm."

Seunghyun watched the smaller man's eyes darken.

"But it made me strong. Strong enough to survive-"

The dragon glanced down at his own body.

"-well, this."

Seunghyun gulped and felt his eyes begin to sting.

"I'm sorry."

"You've already-"

"Please, Jiyong."

Seunghyun spoke deeply. The red head could almost feel the vibrations of his voice.

"I was so angry at you."

He watched the smaller man's eyelashes flutter as he blinked.

"But I didn't let you speak. I was so blinded by- just-"

Jiyong felt a tear drop onto on his own forehead. Seunghyun blinked through his tears.

"As soon as you were taken away I regretted it."

The dragon just looked up at his friend's anguished face.

"I wanted to come sooner, but I kept thinking about my parents and-"

The dark haired man shut his eyes tightly.

"I guess a part of me wanted to- to hurt you."

He felt Jiyong's breath hitch below him, but he also felt the grip in his larger hand tighten. He opened his eyes to look down at the dragon. 

"But then I saw your cave."

The red head swallowed and felt a stinging in his own eyes.

"I saw your drawings."

The dragon felt a tear fall from his eye and roll down his bruised cheek.

"Your scars."

Seunghyun began to trace the older wounds on the dragon's body with his free hand. He felt his friend's breathing quicken at his touch.

"They hurt you. The city. My parents."

He looked back up into the red head's eyes, which stared sadly back up at him.

"They made you..."

Jiyong closed his eyes.

"Rage..."

The dragon whispered. He felt the familiar warmth against his face as Seunghyun rested his forehead against Jiyong's.

"You couldn't control it, Ji. It wasn't your fault."

Jiyong kept his eyes closed as Seunghyun felt his breaths become even against his face. 

It was like as if even thinking about raging tired the dragon because he had fallen asleep right on his friend's lap. But then Seunghyun thought about how being forced into a rage over and over the past week must have exhausted Jiyong even more.

Seunghyun lifted his face from the red head's and smiled down at him, lightly brushing his fingers through his crimson hair.

He really was beautiful.

The dark haired man leaned back to lie on the bed, careful not to move Jiyong. He immediately felt something underneath him. He pulled out his suit jacket from behind his back and felt something in the pocket.

He reached in and took out the soft fabric. He had forgotten about this up at the cave.

He unwrapped the small blanket to reveal a leather bound book inside.

He opened the cover and read the first page.

It was Jiyong's Diary. The first entry dated back 26 years ago.

When the fire started.


	9. Blanket

"March 22nd 1991

My name is Jiyong. I don't know my second name and nobody's ever asked me so I don't think I have one. 

I don't know how old I am or if I have any brothers or sisters. I don't even know who my parents are.

But I do know one thing.

I am a dragon.

I've lived beside the city for as long as I can remember. It's okay. I haven't really met anybody down there before.

Maybe one day I'll make a friend..."

Seunghyun read the first diary entry as Jiyong lay in his lap.

He found his scraggly handwriting adorable. He also found himself petting his younger friend's head as he scanned through the words.

Had Jiyong spent so much time by himself? He didn't have any family or friends for all this time? 

He glanced back down at the sleeping dragon to make sure he was still comfortable. He felt his forehead with the back of his hand. He was warm, but not dangerous for him. 

So Seunghyun read on.

"March 30th 1991

Today I decided to go into the city. I had only ever been down there a few times before and even then nobody really saw me. 

I waited until it got dark. There were so many lights. All different colours. They were so pretty to look at. The only colour I see up on the hill is orange and that's from my flame. 

As I was walking down the street I saw a couple walking on the opposite side of the road. They had a baby. Must have only been a few weeks old. They looked so happy.

I wonder were my parents that happy when they had me."

Reading that last sentence broke Seunghyun's heart. He instinctively placed the diary on the bed under his jacket and reached down to grab his friend. He pulled him up into a tight embrace.

Jiyong was startled momentarily before relaxing into his friend's touch. 

"Um, Seunghyun?"

The dragon mumbled into his taller friend's shirt.

"Just shut up and let me hug you."

The red head smiled and did as he was told and just sat still while Seunghyun sighed into his body.

Eventually they pulled apart and Seunghyun looked into Jiyong's eyes.

"You're parents would be proud of you, Jiyong."

"What?"

The dragon did not expect Seunghyun to say that.

"Any dragon would. I am. I'm proud and I'm happy."

Jiyong blinked.

"Happy? Seunghyun what are you-"

"Happy to have met you, Ji."

The red haired man felt his heart instantly warm up and a smile creep into his face.

"I-I'm happy too... to have met you."

Jiyong was a little flustered, but genuinely grateful. 

Seunghyun smiled in return and put his hand on his little friend's shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get you some dinner."

\--

 

Seungri and Daesung obviously did not work at the FT since Seunghyun had shut it down as soon as he saw what they were doing to Jiyong. 

The tall dark haired man had to return to work to see to some paperwork and Youngbae was needed too. So Seunghyun hired both Seungri and Daesung as Jiyong's guards and carers while he was gone. 

Jiyong had been recovering well. He wasn't as weak as before and his general temperature had lowered. His wounds, however, still needed attention so that's where the other two came in.

"How do you feel?"

Daesung asked the dragon who was sitting on one of the high kitchen stools, allowing Seungri to rub cream along his ribs.

"Better."

The brunette smiled warmly.

"Good."

Both of the guards were now in casual clothes. Daesung in a white flowing buttoned shirt and light blue jeans, Seungri in a black t-shirt and shorts. Jiyong was still wearing nothing other than Seunghyun's cotton shorts.

"Okay, spin."

The blonde instructed lightly causing the red head to swivel in the stool to face his back to them.

Both men inspected the two jagged bones sticking out through the dragon's skin. They had gone down a little bit, but they were still prominent.

Seungri rubbed the soothing cream around the base of the bone. He felt Jiyong relax and let out a deep sigh. Daesung saw the smaller man's eyes clothes and his face relax completely. 

"Does that feel nice?"

Jiyong nodded and let his head hang between his shoulder blades.

"Ji."

The dragon glanced over his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Couldn't we reattach them? Your wings I mean."

Seungri wearily suggested.

Daesung glanced to his friend before looking behind him at the two severed wings resting against the counter.

Jiyong spun around in his chair to face them both before following Daesung's gaze down to his wings.

He held out his hand to them.

Daesung immediately went to pick up one of the wings and handed it to its owner.

The dragon gently held his wing in his hand and surveyed it. He had never really been able to look at it so closely before. 

He stuck his index finger through the hole that the nail had made when it was hammered through his flesh.

Daesung winced and Jiyong saw this. 

The dragon tilted the wing towards the brunette.

"See this?"

He pointed to the piece that had been cut through.

"This is bone. Sewing would be no good."

Seungri scratched his head.

"Well what about glue?"

Jiyong shook his head.

"Even if we did stick it back on they would dislodge as soon as I retracted them."

The dragon saw how upset they both felt and obviously how guilty they felt also.

He placed the wing on the counter behind him and turned back to them.

"Look, you don't have to be sorry. I don't blame either of you."

"Jiyong, you've no idea how awful we feel."

Daesung stated.

"Oh, I think I have an idea."

Jiyong smirked at them.

"Seriously, Jiyong-"

Seungri began.

"You don't think I remember, but I do."

The dragon said firmly.

"I remember you giving me water. I remember you calming me down. I remember that yours were the first kind faces I had seen in over a week."

Daesung and Seungri looked at each other.

"And I remember you helping get me out of there."

He friends didn't speak.

"So don't worry, okay? I'm alive thanks to you two."

"And Youngbae and Seunghyun."

Seungri added smiling. 

"Yes and them. But you're here now and I'm grateful."

Both men nodded at the dragon before he pushed away from the counter.

"Now, where are my smokes?"

His voice disappeared down the hallway as Daesung glanced to his blonde friend.

"He really is something, huh?"

The blonde nodded and switched on the kettle.

"Sure is, Dae."

 

\--

 

Seunghyun spent the day in work completely distracted. He had so much work to catch up on, but his mind wasn't there. He knew that Youngbae was next door in the exact situation. 

His mind was filled with images of red fire and metal chains mixed with freezing cold water and the sensation of shaking.

Like Yin and Yang.

He reached into his desk and took out the little leather book. The diary.

He glanced up to his door once more and opened the pages.

'April 2nd 1991,

I had a good day today. I spoke to somebody for the first time. I mean really had a conversation. 

I was at a bar. Can't remember the name, but it had a big neon sign outside. I was having a drink when a woman sat next to me. She said that she and her husband had just had a baby and this was the first free moment she had to herself since.

Her voice was so nice to listen to. I could listen to her talk forever.

She told me I was funny looking, but it was a good look. 

We were talking for about an hour before she had to leave. 

I never got her name, but I hope I see her again and see if her baby is really as cute as she says he is.'

Seunghyun smiled. Jiyong really was a sweetheart hidden behind his chains and leather jacket.

He turned the page.

'April 4th 1991

I made a mistake. I wasn't careful enough.

Somebody saw me land. They must have been walking in the woods and saw me. I heard them yelling and run back down to the city.

If they come back I don't know what will happen. I've heard how they talk about their superstitions. I can't leave. This is my home.

I don't know what's going to happen, but if you're reading this, it was really nice meeting you and I hope your family will be healthy and happy.'

Seunghyun felt a weight in his chest. Jiyong was talking to the woman he met from before. He had only met her once, but because it was the only real human interaction he had she was special to him.

He turned to the next page. Instantly he noticed how messy and sporadic the writing had become. He even saw what looked like tear drops which had smudged some of the ink.

'April 5th 1991

They came back. With flaming sticks and chains. They dragged me to the town and put me on display. 

They beat me and called me 'creature', 'demon', 'cursed'.

I didn't fight back. I let them do it. I thought I could suppress it, but then I saw her. In the crowd holding her baby. She was crying.

She's the last thing I remember. Before everything went red.

I couldn't help it. Why can't I ever remember what happens? It hurts so much.

Now I'm up here and everybody else is gone. Everybody except him. Her little baby. I'm holding him in my arms as I write this. 

He is crying. I'm so sorry little one. I'll bring you back to the city so they will find you. 

Please, please try to be happy.

I'm so sorry.'

Seunghyun instantly pulled open his desk drawer again and took out the blanket that Jiyong's diary had been wrapped in. He opened it out and placed it on his desk before looking down at it through tear soaked eyes.

There in the corner of the soft fabric embroidered in baby blue were two letters.

C.S

"Choi Seunghyun."


	10. Happy

The dragon was lying on his friend's big bed on his stomach. He rested his head in his folded arms and just breathed rhythmically. 

It was quiet. Daesung and Seungri were in the living room and neither Seaunghyun or Youngbae had returned from work yet.

It was just getting dark so the twilight shone in through the large window pane, casting its glow over the red head's healing body. 

He was awake, just not thinking of anything. Or at least trying not to. 

Every now and then he would see a red flash, but he managed to blink the images away before he began to heat up. 

It seemed that the last of the serum had left his system. He was relieved because it was a lot more of a struggle for him not to show the pain he was feeling than he was letting on. He didn't want to make the others feel more guilty than they already did.

He kneeled up from the bed slowly and stood up so he could stretch his arms above him. His flexible body opened up and he could feel the bone from his wings had gone down even more. He had a feeling that was a good sign.

He made his way over to the full length mirror that Seunghyun used to check his appearance every morning. 

He looked into the eyes of a tired man. A broken dragon who was weakened by hate. His heavy eyes were sad and dark. The bruising accentuated his sadness. 

He traced his gaze down his body. His bare chest was without his signature chains. His collar bones stuck out through his skin. The remnants of his neck restraint a deep and angry red around his throat. 

The cuts and bruising on his torso were familiar to him. He sighed as he didn't even care at this point. 

He wasn't healing as fast as usual because of the serum and because had been so exhausted over the past week. But the cold bath Seunghyun had held him in helped. If it wasn't for him, the dragon would probably had to have been tied down to his bed and let ride it out.

But thankfully it hadn't come to that. Jiyong had let Seunghyun in enough that he knew what helped to calm him.

So as the dragon stared at himself in the mirror at every bruise, every cut, every needle mark, every bone sticking out he smiled. He smiled at the fact that he was still standing.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the door open behind him. He didn't notice the figure approach him until there were arms wrapped around his ribs.

He gasped a little at the sudden contact, but relaxed as he recognized the familiar scent.

"Seunghyun."

He felt the taller man's head rest in his bare shoulder and his embrace tighten around him.

Jiyong reached his hands up and gripped the brunette's strong arms. 

"Are you okay?"

Seunghyun was affectionate towards him, but he was curious this time.

Without a word the taller man gently took the dragon by the shoulders and led him to the large bed. He sat him down and stood in front of him.

The red head blinked up at him in confusion. 

Seunghyun reached into his jacket pocket and took out a soft piece of fabric. He held it by two corners so that it was fully visible.

Jiyong instantly recognized the blanket. 

He froze.

"I- I-"

The taller man could see that the dragon was caught off guard.

"Hey."

Seunghyun smiled and sat next to the dragon. He looked at him through warm eyes.

"It's okay."

Jiyong blinked slowly before looking down at the fabric and taking it in his delicate hands, caressing the baby blue embroidered letters. 

"You found my diary."

Seunghyun nodded.

"Yes."

"I didn't want you to. I didn't even want you to see my cave."

The dragon didn't look away from the blanket as he spoke.

"Why, Ji?"

The dark haired man asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Because I didn't want you to know what I did. I-"

"You saved me, Jiyong."

Seunghyun interrupted and placed his hand on the dragon's knee. This made the red head eventually return his sad gaze through glassy eyes.

"But how many other children did I kill that night?"

"Ji, that wasn't you-"

"Of course it was, Seunghyun!"

The dragon instantly stood up, batting the taller man's hand away.

"Who else do you know that can fly and breathe fire, huh?"

The red head's voice was raised as he paced in front of his friend. 

"Every single night I dream of fire and screaming and- and death. Then meeting you..."

Jiyong put his head in his hands and did his best to control his breathing.

Seunghyun stood quietly and approached his smaller friend. He took him by the shoulders and pushed him back until he eventually hit the wall. 

He took the dragon's hands away from his face, instantly feeling how warm the red head had become, and held them down by his side.

Jiyong looked up at Seunghyun, his eyes red, but sad with tears.

"Meeting you made it seem real again."

The dragon spoke in a whisper.

Seunghyun released his grip on his friend's delicate hands before reaching his own up to cup his face. He wiped the red head's damp cheeks with his thumbs.

"Do you feel calm?"

His deep voice vibrated against the dragon's rib cage.

Jiyong nodded slowly. 

"Good. Now I want you to think back to when I was a baby."

The red head blinked up at him.

"Do you remember?"

"Yes."

"What did you tell me?"

The dragon bit his lip and shut his eyes.

"What did you tell me?"

Seunghyun repeated, still holding Jiyong's face. 

"I told you to be happy."

The dragon spoke quietly, almost sounding like a child.

"Now, look at me."

Seunghyun lowered his stance down to look directly into his friend's eyes. 

"I'm happy. You've made me happier than I've been in so long, Jiyong."

The dragon smiled at what his friend said, lowering his head forward to rest against Seunghyun's.

"Jiyong."

The red head breathed gently against the brunette's face and looked into his eyes. Seunghyun took a breath before his next sentence. 

"I think I love you."


	11. Friend

Youngbae had remained in the office until close to midnight. He had been taking care of the cleanup from A Lab, making sure Han was dealt with and overseeing the cleaning of the chamber as hard as it was. 

They had seized all of the failed serums and collected the scientists research on dragon anatomy - all collected from studying and experimenting on Jiyong. 

Youngbae thought that if there were ever any more dragons discovered there should be a dragon rights organisation founded. What was done to Jiyong should have never been allowed. That's something that Youngbae was going to have to live with for the rest of his life.

The brunette turned off the lights of his office and gathered his coat. He descended to the lobby and walked through the revolving doors, waving goodbye to the security guard. 

He stopped walking in the middle of the pavement and looked at his watch. It was late, but he wasn't tired. More drained than anything.

He made his decision and turned towards 'Night Cap'.

He made his way to the familiar neon lights and pushed through the stiff door.

"Youngbae sir. Late night?"

"I've told you before, Jae. Just Youngbae."

He sat up on a stool at the bar.

"And as I keep telling you and Mr Choi, reminding me every time you come in here isn't gonna change how I address the most important people in town."

"How about two of your oldest friends?"

Youngbae glanced at the bar man and smiled.

The bar man returned the smile and fixed the smaller man his usual vodka and lemon.

Youngbae took a long sip of the citrus alcohol before letting out a heavy sigh and looking around the bar.

It was late. Only a few people were there. He scanned the room and turned back to a comfortable position, but just as he reached his glass his eyes drew him back to the corner of the bar.

There in the dark corner was an equally dark figure. Black hood draped over his head and black ripped jeans covering his legs that were pulled up to his chest on the bench. But Youngbae could clearly make out a few spiky strands of bright red hair sticking out the front of the black fabric.

It was Jiyong.

"How long has he been here, Jae?"

"Ah, the red head? Since this afternoon."

Youngbae spun back to the bartender.

"That long?"

Jae stopped cleaning his glass, slapped the towel over his shoulder and leaned forward with his hands planted on the bar.

"Youngbae, I've been tending this bar for eighteen years. I've seen hundreds of people walk in that door all with different kinds of reasons for coming in."

The younger man listened without touching his drink.

"I've never seen anyone look as troubled as that boy over there."

The barman looked over into the corner as he took the glass back into his hands and began to dry it with his towel again.

Youngbae turned to look back into the dark corner.

"There's a sadness in that young man's eyes. An intense sadness, Youngbae."

The younger man eventually took a tentative sip from his drink.

"As I said, everybody has a different reason for walking in that door. I don't ever want to know that poor boy's."

Youngbae looked dejectedly down at his drink, swirling the glass in his hand.

"Yeah."

He muttered simply before gulping down the last of his drink.

"Another?"

Jae asked warmly.

"Please."

He thought for a moment.

"What's he drinking?"

Jae glanced in the corner and noticed the three empty glasses at Jiyong's table.

The barman smiled, placing another glass next to Youngbae's and filled it with whiskey.

"You're a good man, Youngbae."

"I wouldn't say that, Jae, but I'm getting there."

Youngbae winked at the older man before taking both glasses and approaching the dark corner.

He instantly sat down on the stool next to the dragon and placed his drink in front of him.

The red head didn't move. 

Now that he was closer, Youngbae noticed that the dragon was wearing all of his original jewellery and piercings. The dull silver chains and black choker, the chunky rings and heavy bracelets. 

He noticed that he hoody Jiyong was wearing was one of Seunghyun's and it was only draped over his thin frame.

Without a word, Youngbae reached up and gently pulled down the hood. This causes the whole thing to fall down from the dragon's shoulders and reveal only the thin black tank top that the red head was wearing.

Jae, who was curious, now had full view of the dragon's face and his skin along his collar bone and all up both arms. He took in the bruising and the scars and felt his chest shift a bit before shaking his head in pity.

The first thing that Youngbae noticed when he revealed his friend's face was that he was crying and looked like he had been for a while.

Jiyong was looking down at nothing in particular. He looked like he was in a daze. The three empty glasses on the table couldn't have helped his train of thought.

"Ji?"

Youngbae leaned forward. 

"Can you hear me?"

He tried to break the dragon's gaze. It didn't work so he reached his hand up to touch the red head's shoulder. 

He instantly recoiled at how hot the boy's skin was. He had never been this hot before.

"Ow! Fuck."

This seemed to bring Jiyong out of his daze as he quickly blinked a few times and turned to focus on the other man.

"Youngbae?"

"Hey, Jiyong."

Youngbae was blowing on his own hand.

The dragon saw what had happened.

"Sorry."

"No, no. Don't be sorry. I should know by now not to touch you without- well at all really."

He smiled, trying to keep the tone lighthearted, knowing that Jiyong was in a bad place.

The dragon blinked back through glassy eyes, no hint of a smile. His mind was elsewhere.

"Were friends right, Youngbae?"

That sentence hit Youngbae like a tonne of bricks. He opened his mouth to speak, but found it difficult to find his words.

He silence caused Jiyong to look at the other man in wait. His big glassy eyes felt like they were staring into his soul.

Youngbae gulped and sat forward, placing his hands on the table.

"Ji, I don't deserve to be your friend."

The dragon furrowed his brow and let out a deep warm breath through his nose. 

"I'm the reason you were hurt. I found your cave. I saw your pictures and I told Seunghyun that you killed his parents."

The dragon didn't say anything.

"I was jealous that you were taking my best friend from me."

Jiyong just watched as Youngbae confessed.

"I should be asking for your forgiveness, Jiyong." 

The dragon thought for a moment before dropping his head and closing his eyes. Without opening his eyes he grasped his drink and downed the whole glass.

He placed the empty glass gently next to Youngbae's and waiting another moment before he returned his gaze back up to the other man.

His eyes were glowing red causing Youngbae to gasp. He was a little scared.

The dragon kept his intense stare fixed on Youngbae as he moved closer to him. When he was right up at the brunette's face he didn't move for a moment.

Youngbae didn't dare breathe. He just stared back into the red head's intoxicating fire red eyes.

Suddenly, he felt arms envelop his body. He blinked a few times before really realising that the dragon had his head resting on his shoulder and was embracing him.

He instantly noticed that Jiyong's body was cooler then before and surmised that he had actively lowered the temperature to a safe level so that he wouldn't hurt Youngbae. That's why his eyes had changed to that familiar red. 

The brunette eventually wrapped his own arms carefully around the dragon's ribs, returning the embrace.

"I forgive you."

Youngbae felt a weight immediately lift from his shoulders. He let himself sink deeper into the dragon's warm embrace. 

"Thank you."

After a moment Jiyong slowly pulled away and sat back in his seat. He smiled gently at the other man.

"Jiyong, can I ask you something?"

The dragon nodded, knowing full well what Youngbae was going to ask.

"Why were you crying? The bar man said you were here all day."

The red head thought for a moment before leaning forward and grabbing Youngbae's drink. He drank it in a few gulps and placed it back down, not looking up after.

Youngbae didn't mind. Jiyong must have needed it.

"Seunghyun told me that-"

The dragon blinked while he hesitated.

"He told me that he loves me."

"Oh..."

Youngbae responded, taken aback.

"Yeah."

Jiyong confirmed. 

"Well, what did you say?"

The red head gave the brunette a bashful look.

"You didn't say anything, did you?"

Jiyong shook his head, biting his lower lip.

Youngbae nodded.

"Well, do you love him?"

The dragon looked into Youngbae's eyes, almost through him, and thought hard. Eventually he blinked and stood up almost startling the other man.

"Youngbae, will you do me a favour?"

The brunette looked up at the dragon who was edging his way out from the table.

"S-Sure, Jiyong. Where are you-"

"Tell Seunghyun to meet me at the cliff at seven a.m."

Youngbae stood up, a bit flustered at the dragon's sudden burst of energy.

"Okay, Ji. But what-"

The red head turned to the other man.

"Thank you."

He stepped back towards Youngbae and placed his delicate hand on his shoulder.

"Friend."

The dragon finished his sentence with a warm smile before spinning on his heels and jogging out of the bar, chains rattling and boots clacking.

Youngbae let out a short laugh, grabbed the empty glasses on the table and brought them over to the bar.

Jae stood at the bar with his arms folded and a smile on his face.

"Now try telling me you're not a good man, Youngbae."


	12. Rise

Youngbae had rang Seunghyun late at night to tell him to meet Jiyong in the morning. Seunghyun was apprehensive and Youngbae had told him that he couldn't go with him because he was training in Seungri and Daesung in their new positions in the company and had to be up early. 

So he was on his own.

As soon as the dragon left Seunghyun without saying a word, the taller man regretted ever opening his mouth. He shouldn't have told Jiyong anything. How could he even begin to process something as heavy as that with everything else going on in his head?

But when Youngbae called him and told him that Jiyong wanted to see him, he couldn't say no.

So here he was. Walking up the steady slope towards the cliff edge. The sun was just starting to rise, casting a fresh glow of pink along the sky.

Seunghyun approached the last stretch and instantly made out the oh so familiar figure of his friend. 

At first he was simply a silhouette, masked by the gentle light of the rising sun behind him. But as Seunghyun got closer, Jiyong became clearer.

He stood with his hands behind his back. A thin black t-shirt hung loosely on his sharp collar bones. The familiar silver of his jewellery shone and Seunghyun noticed the black choker that the dragon hadn't been able to wear since before he was taken. 

His red hair was complimented by the warm skylight which also cast a magnificent glow over the dragon's smooth skin.

He really was beautiful.

Seunghyun was now right in front of Jiyong, able to take him all in.

"Good morning."

Jiyong spoke first, arms still behind his back.

"Good morning."

Seunghyun replied.

"Sleep well?"

The dragon asked.

The taller man wasn't used to small talk coming from the red head's sharp mouth.

"Well, no. Not really."

Jiyong let out a quiet laugh and smiled.

"Yeah, me neither."

There was a silence.

Seunghyun couldn't stand how awkward he was feeling.

"Jiyong, please. What is this-"

Suddenly the dragon took something from behind his back and threw it at the taller man.

Seunghyun instantly flinched and caught the pair of shorts that hit him square in the face. 

"Ah! Ji-"

He heard a noise. He stopped and slowly dragged the fabric away from his face.

There in front of him stood Jiyong, arms by his side, smile on his face and wings fully extended. 

"Jiyong! Your..."

The dragon winked at his friend.

"How?"

Jiyong took a step towards Seunghyun.

"Last night, when you told me-"

The dragon looked down for a moment. He couldn't bring himself to say it. 

"I began to feel something. It was a cool feeling. Soothing."

He took another step towards his friend, wings still extended out.

"Like when we were in the bath together."

Seunghyun gulped as the dragon was now right in front of him. If he didn't know him like he did, he would feel intimidated. He actually kind of did.

Jiyong stopped inches from Seunghyun. He took a few moments to just look at him, up into his dark eyes.

Then he leaned his head forward and rested it against Seunghyun's. The other man returned the gesture instantly.

This was their thing. It always made the brunette feel warm and happy. Having the dragon's red hair right against his nose and being able to smell that lovely burnt wood smell like it was his cologne, it made him feel so right.

He closed his eyes and took in the feeling, hoping to make it last forever.

Through his closed lids he noticed that it had gotten darker. He opened his eyes slowly to see that Jiyong's wings had enveloped them both.

The dragon pulled his head back slightly to look into Seunghyun eyes. The dulled morning sunlight pierced through the skin of the red head's wings. It was lovely.

Jiyong's eyes peeked through heavy lids, not because he was tired but because he was so comfortable.

Seunghyun couldn't help but smile down at him.

"I love you."

Seunghyun almost felt his heart stop. Did he hear that right?  


He saw the dragon's mouth move, but almost didn't believe his ears.

He didn't get much more of a chance to debate in his head before he felt warm lips against his own.

A wave of warmth suddenly washed through him from his head all the way down to his toes.

He felt hot air against his face as the dragon let out a sigh of content through his nose. 

Seunghyun gently took Jiyong's face in his soft hands and deepened the kiss.

Eventually they slowly pulled away and Seunghyun instantly embraced Jiyong in his arms, resting his face on the smaller man's shoulder. The dragon did the same.

"I love you, Ji."

This moment was perfect. Being completely in Jiyong's space. Surrounded by him. 

Seunghyun didn't want to ever leave.

After a few moments, the dragon's wings opened and the sunlight brought Seunghyun back to reality.

They broke apart and Jiyong smiled up at him.

He gave a cheeky grin and held out his delicate hand.

Seunghyun gave a knowing look and took the smaller hand without hesitation. 

They both ran as fast as they could towards the cliff edge and dove off. The dragon's wings took flight and they sailed off towards the rising sun.

Together.


End file.
